Thanks to initial funding in 2009 from the McKnight Foundation, and continued support from Farm Aid and the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, WFAN is undertaking a ground-breaking peer-to-peer conservation education program with women farmland owners.

During the pilot project in 2009, women who owned farmland in Johnson, Jones and Linn Counties were invited to participate in a free series of meetings designed not only to give them information about the various conservation and resource management techniques available to them for use on their farmland, but also to help them feel confident in negotiating these changes with their tenants. The program included a field day to view conservation efforts and challenges on local farmland.

Response to the project was very positive, and WFAN will expand the program into as many counties as funding allows in the future. You can read results from the pilot project by clicking here.

Participants may be farm partners, sole owner-operators, or inheritors, or any other woman interested in soil and water conservation or sustainable agriculture.

Coordinating the project in eastern Iowa is Laura Krouse, a long-time WFAN member who owns and operates Abbe Hills Farm near Mt. Vernon. She received the 2007 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, and has been a Linn Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner for nearly 20 years.

Our facilitator for central Iowa is Jean Eells, PhD, of Webster City, who is also a soil and water commissioner and whose ongoing research has focused on conservation education for women landowners.

For information on upcoming meetings, watch our Upcoming Events page and newsletter, or call WFAN at 515 460 2477.