Progress 11/01/04 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The primary result is the continued expansion of the Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network. Over 1200 members belong to the network and attend network events. We have conducted 20 in-depth interviews with women farm operators. In addition, we have conducted 5 focus groups with women farmers in 5 different regions of Pennsylvania. Analysis of the focus groups suggests that women farmers feel isolated, lack information on business and financial planning, and are interested in educational programs that are hands-on, intensive and practical. They are interested in participated in networks to relieve their isolation and to learn more about a wide-variety of sustainable production practices. We also conducted a survey of over 500 women farmers in the Northeast United States. The research results provide information on the educational needs of the farmers. Consequently, we have conducted multiple field days, workshops, and other events catering to the educational needs of the farmers. Based on data collected through focus groups, needs assessments, and in-depth interviews, we held over 40 workshops and farm field days for women farmers. These events included Building A Hoophouse, Business Planning: Creating a Roadmap for your Business, Fencing Workshop, Cheesemaking Workshop, Rodale Research Tour, Soil Quality Workshop, IPM Workshop for Greenhouse Growers, Dairy Alternatives Field Day, and Poultry Processing Workshop. In addition, we worked collaboratively with the Pennsylvania Department of agriculture to hold a Women and Agriculture Day at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. We also did a workshop on equipment repair, maintenance, and operation at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. PARTICIPANTS: Carolyn Sachs was the principal investigator, oversaw the data collection of the project, supervised the extension personnel on the project, and coordinated the activities of the project. Mary Barbercheck worked with the data planning and collection and provided advice and direction for the extension component of the project. Jill Findeis provided leadership in developing the survey instrument for the project. Nancy Ellen Kiernan provided leadership in evaluation for the project and also participated in the research and outreach components of the project. Kathy Brasier participated in the survey design and analysis, the design of extension educator interviews and survey, and assisted with the extension and outreach component of the project. She also developed the leadership training component of the project. Linda Moist organized the field days and other extension and outreach activities of the project, developed the website and worked closely with farmer representatives, and edited newsletters Ann Stone worked as the project assistant, provided support for field days, research activities, designed newsletters, developed promotional activities, and provided support for events. We had a large number of partner organizations including Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Somerton Tanks, Pennsylvania Certified Organic, Vermont Women's Agricultural Network, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Rodale Institute, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Slow Foods of Central PA, Acoceek Foundation. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences were women farmers, operators of agricultural-related enterprises, educators, and agricultural professionals. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Of the people who attended our field days and other events; 53% reported increased understanding of 3-7 topics, 27% reported increased understanding of 2 topics; 15% reported increased understanding of 1 topic, and 5% reported no increase in understanding. Of the people who attended our events, 96% reported they plan to modify their operation based on the information they learned at our field days and 88% were interested in hosting educational events at their farms.
Publications
- Barbercheck, M., K. Brasier, N.E. Kiernan, C. Sachs, and A. Trauger. 2009. Meeting the Extension Needs of Women Farmers: A Perspective from Pennsylvania. Journal of Extension 47(3). http://www.joe.org/joe/2009june/a8.php.
- Brasier, K., A. Trauger, N.E. Kiernan, C. Sachs, and M. Barbercheck. 2009. Extension Educators' Perceptions of the Needs of Women Farmers. Journal of Extension 47(3). http://www.joe.org/joe/2009june/a9.php.
- Sachs, C. 2008. Gender and Natural Resource Management. Gender and Agricultural Livelihoods Sourcebook. World Bank. Washington, D.C. pp. 423-474.
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Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The primary result is the continued expansion of the Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network. Over 1000 members belong to the network and attend network events. The research results provide informaton on the educational needs of the farmers. Consequently, we have conducted multiple field days, workshops, and other events catering to the educational needs of the farmers. PARTICIPANTS: Carolyn Sachs was the principal investigator,oversaw the data collection of the project and supervised the extension personnel on the project, and coordinated the activities of the project. Mary Barbercheck worked with the data planning and collection and provided advise and direction for the extension component of the project. Jill Findeis provided leadership in developing the survey instrument for the project. Nancy Ellen Kiernan provided leadership in evaluation for the project and also participated in the research and outreach components of the project. Kathy Brasier participated in the survey design and analysis, the design of extension educator interviews and survey, and assisted with the extension and outreach component of the project. She also developed the leadership training component of the project. Linda Moist organized the field days and other extension and outreach activities of the project, developed the website and worked closely with farmer representatives, and edited newsletters Ann Stone worked as the project assistant, provided support for field days, research activities, designed newsletters, developed promotional activites, and provided support for events. We had a large number of partner organizations including Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Somerton Tanks, Pennsylvania Certified Organic, Vermont Women's Agricultural Network, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Rodale Institute, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Slow Foods of Central PA, Acoceek Foundation. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience were women farmers, operators of agricultural-related enterprises, educators, and agricultural professionals. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Of the people who attended our field days and other events; 53% reported increased understanding of 3-7 topics, 27% reported increased understanding of 2 topics; 15% reported increased understanding of 1 topic, and 5% reported no increase in understanding. Of the people who attended our events, 96% reported they plan to modify their operation based on the information they learned at our field days and 88% were interested in hosting educational events at their farms.
Publications
- Trauger, A., C. Sachs, M. Barbercheck, K. Brasier, N.E. Kiernan, and J. Findeis. 2008. Understanding effective educational programming for women farmers in the United States: The case of the Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network. Journal of Rural Studies. 24(4):432-439.
- Trauger, A., C. Sachs, M. Barbercheck, K. Brasier, and N.E. Kiernan. 2008. Our market is our community: Women farmers and civic agriculture in Pennsylvania, USA. Agriculture and Human Values. (In Press).
- Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network Newsletters, Spring, 2005-Summer 2008. http://wagn.cas.psu.edu/newsletter.html
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Based on data collected through focus groups, needs assessments, and in-depth interviews, we held a series of workshops and farm field days for women farmers. These events included Building A Hoophouse, Business Planning: Creating a Roadmap for your Business, Fencing Workshop, Cheesemaking Workshop, Rodale Research Tour, Soil Quality Workshop, IPM Workshop for Greenhouse Growers, Dairy Alternatives Field Day, and Poultry Processing Workshop. In addition, we worked collaboratively with the Pennsylvania Department of agriculture to hold a Women and Agriculture Day at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. We also did a workshop on equipment repair, maintenance, and operation at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture.
PARTICIPANTS: Carolyn Sachs was the principal investigator on the project. Collaborators from Penn State include Mary Barbercheck, Amy Trauger, Kathy Brasier, Linda Moist, and Jill Findeis. Patricia Allen from the University of California, Santa Cruz was also a collaborator. Funding was received from USDA-NESARE, USDA-NRI Small and Medium Sized Farms, USDA-NE Risk Management, FAO, Charles Sturt University.
TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience was women farmers on small and medium-sized farms. We delivered informal education to over 240 women farmers and also provided a newsletter to over 900 women farmers.
Impacts
We conducted evaluations at our workshops and field days. Of the 240 people who attended the events, 57% reported they had increased understanding of 3 or more topics, 23% reported they had increased understanding of two topics, 16% reported they had increased understanding of 1 topic, and 4% reported they had no increased understanding. At all of the events, at least 80% of attendees were inspired to modify their operations.
Publications
- Sachs, C. 2007. Going Public: Networking Globally and Locally. Rural Sociology 72(1):2-24.
- Allen, P. and C. Sachs. 2007. Women and Food Chains: The Gendered Politics of Food. International Journal of Food and Agriculture 5(1): 1-23.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
We have conducted 20 in-depth interviews with women farm operators. In addition, we have conducted 5 focus groups with women farmers in 5 different regions of Pennsylvania. Analysis of the focus groups suggests that women farmers feel isolated, lack information on business and financial planning, and are interested in educational programs that are hands-on, intensive and practical. They are interested in participated in networks to relieve their isolation and to learn more about a wide-variety of sustainable production practices. We have also designed a survey which will be administered to 2500 women farmers in the Northeast United States.
Impacts
We have developed intensive educational programs for women farmers including production, business and financial planning, and networking.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
As part of our effort to build a women's agricultural network in Pennsylvania, we are conducting focus groups of women farmers. Focus groups are being conducted in 5 regions of Pennsylvania to determine women farmers' educational needs. We have conducted 3 regional focus groups and 21 women have participated. Some important preliminary observations from the focus groups relate to three separate domains: technical training needs, educational context and barriers to participation. Technical training needs that repeatedly surfaced were equipment safety and maintenance, business management and planning, regulatory frameworks and policies that affect the farm (i.e., labor, farm transfer), access to capital, alternative production practices (i.e., crop rotation plans, transitioning to organic) and alternative marketing strategies. The educational context that most focus group participants prefer is a one- to three-day long intensive workshop that is composed of both lecture
and hands-on modules with a small group of farmers at the same educational level. An important aspect of this educational context is the opportunity to network with other (preferably women) farmers for multi-directional learning at the workshop and after. Barriers to participation in educational events include time, distance and appropriateness of the event. Most focus group participants found leaving their farm for long periods of time the largest barrier to participation.
Impacts
We have used the results of our focus group to design new types of educational programs for women farmers that focus on multi-directional learning, network involvement, and hands-on experiences. We are also developing learning activities that focus on the identified technical needs of farmers.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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