Women in Agriculture Conference

The Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference will be going virtual for 2021. The conference will be held on Feb. 18-19, 2021 from Noon to 2:15 p.m. CT each day via Zoom. 

“Even though we are unable to be in-person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are grateful for the opportunity to continue supporting women in agriculture.” said Jessica Groskopf, director of Nebraska Women in Agriculture. “Through this virtual event, we hope to provide women with the tools, skills and networking opportunities they need.” 

The two-day conference will be a hybrid event, offering both live-stream and on-demand learning opportunities for attendees. These presentations and workshops will offer attendees tools and information on how to better manage risk, improve their farms and ranches and become more successful operators and business partners. 

Elaine Froese, a lifelong farmer from Manitoba Canada, will be the live keynote speaker on Thursday Feb. 18. Elaine has been working for years with hundreds of families on farm succession planning. She uses her background in conflict resolution and communication to help fellow farmers and ranchers face make-or-break issues head on, so they can focus on the business of farming.

On Friday Feb. 19 participants will hear a live keynote address form Brandi Buzzard Frobose, a Kansas rancher, who has been writing and speaking about the rural lifestyle and helping others share their story for more than a decade. Brandi was named one of the Top 10 Industry Leaders Under 40 by Cattle Business Weekly in 2019 and also selected as the NCBA Masters of Beef Advocacy Advocate of the Year in 2019. 

“We are excited to have two great keynote speakers join us this year,” said Groskopf. “We will also be hosting four live workshops, and several on-demand workshops that will offer attendees an abundance of information that they can take back to their own operations.”

Registration for the two-day event is now open on the Nebraska Women in Agriculture website, wia.unl.edu. The cost to attend is $25 for participants who register on or before Feb. 7. Registration increases to $30 on Feb. 8. Fifty scholarships are available for students and ten scholarships are available for beginning farmers/ranchers.  More information can be found on the website.