Iowa State Extension's Women in Agriculture Program is recognizing several Iowans as Women Impacting the Land. The awards celebrate farm work ranging from traditional row crops to livestock to perennial trees and nuts. Madeline Schultz, the director of the Women in Agriculture program, says the increased awareness of women's contributions to farming inspired the awards.
"We have selected eight women across Iowa who we really feel are very innovative in their conservation methods," Schultz says. "All of these women have really contributed to their communities. They've served on soil and water conservation boards, they've served on local extension council committees, school boards, and many other ways."
The awardees were honored at a noon-time celebration each of the three days of the Farm Progress Show in Boone.
"We believe that well-educated women help us to have a strong agricultural system across the state and to ensure a safe food supply for the world," says ISU Vice President for Extension and Outreach CathannKress. She says the university is pleased to see so many female farmers benefiting from Extension programs.
Women now make up more than 50 percent of students in ISU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and nearly 25 percent of farmers in the state.
