In Her Boots Workshop To Support Female Farmers
SPRING VALLEY, WISC. — Women with dreams of launching an agriculture venture or women already farming are invited to attend the In Her Boots workshop Wednesday, Aug. 17, at Clay Bottom Farm, Goshen.
The Rural Women’s Project of the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service will organize the event.
As women make up one of the fastest growing groups of new farmers according to the Census of Agriculture, this event uniquely looks at farming from a gender lens and digs into priority topics for female farmers such as integrating family, diversification and tapping into grants and resources for women.
Farmer Rachel Herschberger welcomes attendees to Clay Bottom Farm, her family’s diversified, organic-produce farm focused on local markets, including a CSA serving 60 families.
On the detailed farm tour, attendees will see the germination greenhouse, view the processing area with a demonstration of salad greens washing, explore the growing fields and view perennial cover crop use in pastures.
The event offers an inside look at ways to create a lean production system focusing on delivering as much value as possible while eliminating waste, the principle on which Herschberger’s husband and business partner, Ben Hartman’s book, “The Lean Farm,” is based.
The day will start with an opening session covering Herschberger’s farm startup story, including creative approaches to land financing, often a barrier for beginning farmers. The day also covers a two-part detailed farm tour, including following the seed through the stages of getting planted and transplanted into greenhouse, a locally-sourced lunch and break-out sessions covering topics ranging from starting agritourism ventures like B&B farmstays to insider marketing tips.
Pre-register for this field day by Aug. 13, online at mosesorganic.org (click on the “Join us in the field” image) or (715) 778-5775.