Passion for Progress is a fitting theme for the 2018 Women’s Agricultural Leadership conference, which is celebrating its 20th year. This annual conference, coordinated by Minnesota District 11 Agri-Women, includes presentations on a wide variety of topics, including agriculture policy, advocacy, technology, professional development, and marketing. It has become known for its quality programming, leadership development, and networking.
“This year is a milestone in so many ways,” said conference co-founder Doris Mold. “Not only have we seen the event grow in attendance and attract professionals from all over the state and region, we’ve also witnessed an increase in the number of women leaders in the field of agriculture. Furthermore, we have grown beyond the one day of the conference and we anticipate future growth in year round programming that will reach and inspire more leaders. In essence we have become the Women’s Agricultural Leadership Program.”
In 1998, Mold and co-founder Robin Kinney were part of a leadership task force that found that there were not many women in leadership positions in agricultural organizations although there were numerous women agriculturalists. Mold and Kinney decided that something needed to be done to activate more women in agriculture. They formed a committee that started the Women’s Ag Leadership Conference with the first conference held in 1999.
The conference is scheduled Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, and online registration is now open at www.womensagleadership.org. Interested attendees do not need to work in the field of agriculture.
Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson will recognize outstanding mentors in agriculture during the 16th annual mentorship awards presentation. The mentoring awards and mentoring program have become one of the hallmarks of the Women’s Agricultural Leadership Program.
The conference begins with registration check-in at 8 a.m. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is located at 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska.
Major conference sponsors are: AgCounty Farm Credit Services, Compeer Financial, CoBank and Farm Credit Leasing.
For more information visit www.womensagleadership.org.
