Conference focuses on women in agriculture

Women are an integral part of farming and ranching operations in the panhandle.

The 14th annual Women in Agriculture gathering, held at the Sidney Holiday Inn on Friday, set out to inform women about what's going on in agriculture today, in a comfortable setting.

Karen DeBoer, educator at the Cheyenne County extension of the University of Nebraska Lincoln, which hosted the conference, estimated that there were around 60 women in attendance.

"I think women are a really important asset in a farming and ranching operation," DeBoer said. "And their role, in my opinion is increasing. They're taking on a lot more jobs on a farm and a ranch."

It's important for women to know and understand what's going on in agriculture, she added.

Jessica Johnson, extension educator for UNL in Scottsbluff, informed the crowd about land values and the correlating rental rates for agriculture land in the panhandle.

"Rental rates typically lag behind because of their nature, they lag behind land values because they're usually long term agreements," Johnson said. "If I have a renter, I want to keep them around. It's worth my money to keep them around, and I'm probably not going to go in and negotiate that rental agreement every year."

She informed the crowd that the rates vary depending on what county and what type of land it is. Rental rates are determined by supply and demand, not necessarily by land value, she said.

"Landlords need to be understanding," Johnson said. "How much is keeping a really great tenant worth?"

She stressed that the relationship between landlord and tenant should be a solid one because the two are essentially business partners.

"Here's the greatest rental rate secret I will ever share," Johnson said. "Whatever the landlord is willing to accept and the tenant is willing to pay should be the rental rate for you operation. If neither one of you feels like you're getting robbed, that's what the rental rate should be."

Even though Johnson said she understood the culture of handshake agreements between farmers, she still urged those present to enter into written lease agreements when renting farm land. Non verbal agreements can make things difficult especially when the farm owner dies and the heir is unsure of the terms of the agreement.

"If it's written, then we know what your wishes were," Johnson said.

Lyllian Dedic commented that events like the one of Friday are important so that women involved in farming and ranching can learn to improve on and maintain what they have.

She and her husband own pasture land in the Potter area, so she appreciated Johnson's presentation about land value and rental rates.

"That was interesting, very interesting, Dedic said. "And so was the thing about the handshake or the formal agreement."

Dedic has never experienced issues with the man who rents her pasture land with whom she simply has a verbal agreement.

"You know each other, you trust each other, and it just seems to work better," Dedic said.

She added that a written agreement would provide protection for both parties involved in the agreement.

Additional presentations at the conference included a keynote address from Kim Wolinski or "Dr. Declutter", author, speaker and trainer or for 35 years who spoke to the crowd about change, stress and time management.

Other presentations included the value of bee pollination in food production, adult consumption levels for fruits and vegetables and ways to add the many different vegetables to one's plate.

Also featured at the event were various craft booths from panhandle women.

"Women are kind of the other half of every farming operation, even if they have an in-town job they still have to support their farm," Johnson said.

Jeanne Murray stated that when her husband died, she had to continue their operation by herself.

"This is their lives," Murray said. "They need to know just as much as their spouse does. You never know."

She added that it's nice to have a conference with women only, so they don't feel intimidated to ask questions that many men in the business might find trivial.

"The goal was to create an environment where women are comfortable," DeBoer said.