Bootcamp for women to provide hands-on skills for managing a cattle operation

grazing-cattle-mary-hightower-u-of-a-extension-service

Women who want to dive deeply into the skills needed to manage a cattle operation will have the opportunity during the Women-only Cattle Bootcamp set for Feb. 22-24 in north-central Arkansas.

Presented by the Cooperative Extension Service offices in Cleburne and Independence counties, the three-day bootcamp will be hosted at the Chimney Rock Cattle Company of Concord, and the Livestock and Forestry Station in Batesville, part of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.

Participants may register by contacting either the Cleburne County or Independence County extension offices. The cost for the three-day event is $50, which covers food and materials. Registration is limited to 30 participants.

According to the American Farmland Trust, 10.9 percent of cattle operations in the United States have women as principal operators. In 39.4 percent of cattle operations, women are the secondary operator.

“The idea behind this event is to empower women in the agriculture sector by giving them an opportunity to learn the day-to-day, hands-on skills they need to make informed decisions on the farm,” said Amy Heck, Cleburne County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “In addition, our hope is that women will come away from this bootcamp feeling inspired and confident in sharing their ag story by serving as an advocate for the agriculture industry.

“This will also give women an opportunity to learn amongst their peers without feeling intimidated in a male-dominated industry,” Heck said. “They will learn skills such as how to back a trailer, how to calibrate a sprayer, how to drive a tractor, sustainability practices, estate planning and how to develop a farm business plan.”

Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge will be the keynote speaker, kicking off the conference on Feb. 22. Rutledge is no stranger to agriculture — she and her husband Jeff operate a farm near Newport. The program will also include subject matter experts from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Ag Heritage, the local Farm Bureau, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, as well as local cattlemen and women.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/.

Featured image: U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Mary Hightower

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