The Rural Women's Project supports two workshop series:

In Her Boots:  Sustainable Farming For Women, By Women
A workshop series focusing on women farmers and food-based business owners
Facilitated by the Rural Women’s Project, a venture of MOSES (the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service) with support from the USDA Risk Management Agency

2013 In Her Boots Workshops:

Canoe Creek Produce
Sunday, August 4, 2013 | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  | Decorah, Iowa  | $35; $50 after 7-22-13
Discuss farm diversification, beginning farmer challenges and resources, and farmstay start-ups with a panel of experienced farmers plus representatives of FoodCorps and MOSES.

Dancing Winds Farms
Thursday, August 8, 2013  | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  |  Kenyon, Minn. | $35; $50 after 7-25-13
A panel of farmers discusses diversification through farmstays, farming as a single woman, starting farms mid-life, beginning farmer land access & financing, cheesemaking, raising goats, and more!

Scotch Hill Farm
Sunday, August 18, 2013  | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  |  Brodhead, Wis. | $35; $50 after 8-4-13
Learn from women who run successful CSA operations through the Fair Share Coalition. Topics include starting a CSA, balancing farm and family pressures, and creating value-added products from the farm.

Harvest ideas here from our 2012 In Her Boots workshops.

Background:

Women are one of the fastest growing segments of new farmers and business owners, cultivating fresh and creative approaches to agriculture, plowing new farming and food-based business ventures and blending entrepreneurial start-ups with their passion for bringing healthy, fresh, local food to our communities.

From launching new farms to dairy operations to pizza businesses, this growing trend of women “ecopreneurs” creatively build successful businesses around their passion for conservation, community and leaving this world a better place. Some of these women traded urban roots for the rural lifestyle while others are recrafting the family farm lifestyle they grew up with. Yet they all share a passion to help educate others about the importance of healthy land, food and community connections.

After a successful launch in 2011, the “In Her Boots:  Sustainable Farming For Women, By Women,” continues in 2012 with three new sessions to provide on-farm, women-led sharing of resources, experiences and inspiration to further connect and grow this movement. These day-long, on-farm workshops provide women farmers and food-focused business owners with an inspiring blend of practical information, skill-building, farm tours, resource connections and networking opportunities to encourage and support this growing segment of organic farmers, entrepreneurs and agricultural leaders.

Drawing on the expertise and perspectives of both seasoned and beginning female farmers, participants will dive into pragmatics and practicalities of successfully running farm and food-based enterprises, including value-added enterprises, land stewardship, risk management through income diversification, and integrating children and family. The workshops also highlight the Plate to Politics initiative supporting more women in sustainable agriculture to take on leadership roles to further encourage this movement.

Get answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the In Her Boots workshops.

In Her Boots Workshops

Additional resources from specific workshops are listed in the following sections.

Organizations
MOSES Rural Women’s Project
MOSES New Organic Stewards
Women, Food & Agriculture Network WFAN Get the free quarterly newsletter!
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)
National coalition of sustainable agriculture groups includes MOSES. Sign-up for weekly e-newsletter
about federal policy issues and actions, particularly related to the Farm Bill.
Wisconsin Farmers Union
Family Farm Defenders

CSA resources
Fairshare CSA coalition
FRESH

Grants & Programs
“5 Steps to Writing A Farm Grant,” by Lisa Kivirist
National Farmers Union Beginning Farmer Institute
ATTRA internships and apprenticeships
Value-Added Producer Grants
Producers First Grant
Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm loans for Socially Disadvantaged Applicants (SDA)
NRSC hoop house cost-sharing program
SARE Farmer Rancher Grants
DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency

Agritourism & Farmstay Start-Up Resources
Break-out session held at each Boots workshop by Lisa Kivirist, MOSES Rural Women’s Project; Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B
Travel Green Wisconsin
Bed & Breakfast code/Wisconsin Department of Health

See the Boots workshops below for more resources.

2012 Workshop Flyers & Resources

In Her Boots:  Sustainable Agriculture for Women, By Women Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012
Farm Host:  Erin Schneider, Hilltop Community Farm, S850 Heidrich Rd., La Valle, WI 53941

Speakers:
Erin Schneider, Hilltop Community Farm
Laura Mortimore, Orange Cat Community Farm
Lisa Kivirist, MOSES Rural Women’s Project, Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B.

Additional Resources:
Wisconsin Pickle Bill

Specialty Fruit Marketing Survey
Share your thoughts on fruit and let us know if you want to join a more focused discussion on marketing and pilot tastings (as more fruit becomes available).

National Cooperative Business Association's Farmer to Farmer Program
Program through which Erin is doing farmer training in Africa.

MOSES Organic Fact Sheet: Resources for Organic Orchardists
MOSES Organic Fact Sheet: Considering Risk Before Starting an Organic Orchard
MOSES Organic Fact Sheet: Organic Tree Fruit Certification
MOSES Organic Fact Sheet: Planning the Organic Orchard

Fruit Fact Sheets:
Currants
Elderberries
Saskatoon
Honeyberries
Fruit Marketing
Fruit and Nut Varieties
Making Jams and Jellies
Troubleshooting Canning

Examples of Guilds
Hilltop Farm Guild Map
Hilltop Farm Fruits

Profitable Farms

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In Her Boots:  Sustainable Agriculture for Women, By Women Friday, Aug. 17, 2012
Farm host: The Bridge-Between Retreat Center, 4471 Flaherty Ln, Denmark WI 54208

Speakers:
Sister Caroline Sullivan, Founder, Bridge-Between Retreat Center
Molly Collard, Executive Director Assistant, Te Bridge-Between Retreat Center
Sister Jo Anne Dold, Bridge-Between Retreat Center
Valerie Dantoin, Full Circle Farm; Organic & Sustainable Ag & Food Educator
Lisa Kivirist, MOSES Rural Women’s Project, Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B.

Additional Resources:
The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman
Asparagus to Zucchini by the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition

Market Farm Forms

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In Her Boots:  Sustainable Agriculture for Women, By Women
Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012
Farm Hosts:  Lindsey Morris Carpenter & Gail Carpenter, Grassroots Farm, N4596 Dutch Hollow Road, Monroe, WI 53566

Farm Host & Speakers:
Lindsey Morris Carpenter & Gail Carpenter, Grassroots Farm
Andy Hazzard, Hazzard Free Farm & CSA
Kriss Marion, Circle M Farm
Kristi Waits, Femmium Ronomy Group, Karma Write-Off
Lisa Kivirist, MOSES Rural Women’s Project, Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B

Additional Resources:
Rodale Institute’s Organic Price Report
Technology, Website & Social Media Resources

PLANT
Website Domain: GoDaddy ($15/yr) *
Phone: Google Voice  ($0/yr)
Email:  Google Apps ($0/yr)
Office Tools: Google Apps ($0/yr)
Website Hosting: BlueHost for WordPress ($100/yr); Shopify for eCommerce ($360); Google Sites for basic website ($0/yr)http://www.weebly.com/ for basic websites ($0/yr)
* you can also usually purchase a domain name from your hosting service.

GROW
Social Media: Facebook; Twitter; YouTube; Pinterest ($0/yr)
Email Marketing: Mail Chimp ($0/yr)
Customer Surveys: Survey Monkey ($0/yr)

HARVEST
Accounting: Wave ($0/yr)
Invoices: Wave ($0/yr); FreshBooks $160/yr)
Expenses:  Expensify ($0/yr)

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