Program begins tonight at Mineral Area College

By PAULA BARR
Daily Journal Staff Writer

Published: Thursday, September 10, 2009
Updated: Thursday, September 10, 2009 10:38 AM CDT

Ruth Hambleton’s mother was an Illinois farm woman who began married life with financial struggles, but died a wealthy woman thanks to her financial skills. Annette Fleck’s life inspired Hambleton to develop a program in her honor that would teach other women farmers the skills they needed to succeed.

Now Hambleton’s daughter is bringing the program, Annie’s Project, to the Parkland. The six-week program begins tonight at Mineral Area College. There is still time to enroll.

“My mom was working for the University of Illinois Extension when she started Annie’s Project,” said Lynn Heins, who serves as agriculture business specialist for the University of Missouri Extension in Washington, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve counties.

“She found a grant for programs aimed at underserved audiences, which includes women farmers.”

When Hambleton learned about the grant for underserved audiences, she thought of Fleck, whose husband was a dairy farmer. While raising four children, Fleck kept the records for the farm, monitored the cash flow and kept up with changes in laws and policies. For a while, she ran an egg business. She and her husband struggled financially at first.

“Grandpa had to get on off-farm job,” Heins explained. “They suffered from low profitability as a young couple. But by the time she died in 1997, she was a wealthy woman who did things her way.

Hambleton modeled the program after her mother’s good management skills.

The program is offered in 15 states, and Hambleton has trained staff in the program in five additional states. It will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday nights through Oct. 15. Cost is $50. To sign up, call Heins at 573-438-2671,

The number of female principal operators of farms in this country has increased 46 percent from 1997 to 2007, according to census figures, Heins said. Annie’s Project is aimed at women who run and/or own farms, or just want to know more about farming. It teaches participants effective record keeping, problem solving and decision making skills.

The curriculum, initially used for a group of crop farmers, is flexible and can be tailored to meet the needs in an individual class. For example, marketing would be handled differently in each case for grain, livestock and equine farms, Heins noted.

The six-week curriculum includes expert guest speakers to discuss human resources and time management, building a business plan, retirement and estate planning, marketing strategies, financial documentation, stress management and farm safety.

Participants each receive a binder of information, a jump drive and FAST (Farm Analysis Solution Tools) software.

“One of the best parts of the program is the network of support they develop,” said Heins. “Experienced and inexperienced farmers help each other.”

Heins is married to Scott, a grain farmer who works in his family’s corporation. Although she does not directly work on the farm, Heins respects women who do.

“I admire those women who not only do the management, but are also out there driving the combine and vaccinating the cattle,” she said.

For more information about Annie’s Project, go to http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Annie/index.html .

 

Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at pbarr@dailyjournalonline.com.

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