Innovative program for women farmers
Ashley Schumacher, left, marketing manager for ALCIVIA, organizes Her Farm Network events to provide a place for farmers like Erin Hawkinson, right, to network and learn with other women.
At agriculture-related events she attended and planned, Ashley Schumacher noticed something. “Women’s voices weren’t quite heard,” says Schumacher, marketing manager at ALCIVIA, a CHS member co-op. “They were listening and learning and gaining knowledge, but they didn’t necessarily have the opportunity to share.”
Her Farm Network, a program run by the Wisconsin-based co-op, aims to change that. Started in 2019, the program brings together women in agriculture to learn about timely topics like succession planning and work/life balance, network with each other and bring back new knowledge to their farm operations.
Events are open to the co-op’s customers and members as well as to the general public. The women who attend bring different life experiences, but share a desire to learn and expand their networks. Most important, they share a love for what they do. “What we all have in common is a deep-rooted passion for agriculture,” says Schumacher. “It’s something that binds us all together.”
Watch a short video about Her Farm Network and one of the program’s most enthusiastic participants, Erin Hawkinson of Hawkinson Family Farms.