The 2025 Purdue Extension Ag Women Engage Conference will feature “Fancy Lady Cowgirl” brand founder Courtenay DeHoff as a keynote speaker Thursday Feb. 13, 2025, at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne. DeHoff herself is an agriculture advocate. She also executive produces and hosts “Backroad Cowgirls”, a digital series about agriculture’s diverse faces and their stories. Photo from Purdue College of Agriculture.

News Release

FORT WAYNE — The 2025 Purdue Extension Ag Women Engage Conference will feature “Fancy Lady Cowgirl” brand founder Courtenay DeHoff as a keynote speaker Thursday Feb. 13, at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne. DeHoff will speak following lunch at the event.

The Purdue Women in Agriculture Team offers this event to educate women involved in the agricultural industry. DeHoff herself is an agriculture advocate. She also executive produces and hosts “Backroad Cowgirls”, a digital series about agriculture’s diverse faces and their stories.

There will be pre-conference workshops and breakout presentations. These will help attendees enhance their farms and agribusiness operations, manage risk and network with other ag women throughout Indiana.

The schedule for the day is as follows:

• 8:30-9:30 a.m.  |  Registration
• 9:30-9:40 a.m.  |  Welcome
• 9:45-10:30 a.m.  |  Session 1
• 10:30-10:45 a.m.  |  Connection Break
• 10:45-11:30 a.m.  |  Session 2
• 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.  |  Lunch and Keynote (45 mins)
• 1-1:15 p.m.  |  Connection Break
• 1:15-2 p.m.  |  Session 3
• 2-2:15 p.m.  |  Connection Break
• 2:15-3 p.m.  |  Session 4
• 3-3:15 p.m.  |  Wrap Up

There will be three Pre-Conference Sessions held on Wednesday, Feb. 12:

More Than a Visit: Integrating Hands-on Learning, Urban Agriculture, and Food Preservation into Farm Tours and Field Trips.

• 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Registration $35 w/ AWE Conference participation.
• Registration $35 w/out AWE Conference participation.
• Limit 20 participants.

Blooming Success: Mastering Post-Harvest, Pests, and Profits.

• 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Registration $50 w/ AWE Conference participation.
• Registration $60 w/out AWE Conference participation.
• Limit 32 participants.

Grain Marketing — Getting the Basics

• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Registration $40 w/ AWE Conference participation.
• Registration $50 w/out AWE Conference participation.
• Limit 32 participants.

To learn more about the event, visit the conference’s webpage. Registration costs $135. Attendees can be register here. For registration questions, contact The Education Store at [email protected]. For accommodation requests, contact email Ed Farris [email protected].