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WAgN Announces Third Annual Conference
Maine will serve as host to the Women’s Agricultural Network’s (WAgN) Third New England Conference, "Common Threads in the Fabric of Farming: Honoring the Role of Women." The event will take place at Lewiston/Auburn College in Lewiston on Saturday, December 14. The conference will begin with registration at 8 a.m. and will conclude at 3:45 p.m. Group activities and a variety of educational sessions will be offered throughout the day, including such topics as: The Importance of Having a Business Plan, presented by Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community; Value-added Fiber, presented by Susan Watson of Midsummer Night’s Meadow Farm and Paula Farrar of Done Roving Farm; Unique Marketing Strategies, presented by a panel of women farmers; Risk Management, presented by Sandy Yeatts from the Risk Management Agency of Raleigh, N.C.; and Setting a Holistic Goal, presented by Mary Peabody from UVM and WAgN of Vermont.The conference affords women and other underserved individuals the valuable opportunity for networking and educating themselves on the important issues in farming today. WAgN encourages both women and men to attend.
Influential women in farming will be highlighted in keeping with the day’s theme, and many agriculture-related agencies, organizations, and farms will have booths on display. The registration fee is $15 per person, which includes lunch provided by Gloria Varney of Nezinscot Farm, Turner. A limited number of scholarships will be offered on a need basis. For more information, please contact Dr. Vivianne Holmes at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension office in Lisbon at 1-207-353-5550. This conference is funded in part by the USDA Risk Management Agency and is sponsored by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Women’s Agricultural Network of Maine, Beginner Farmers of New Hampshire, Women’s Agricultural Network of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire Resource Conservation and Development Area Councils, Heifer International, and AmeriCorps*VISTA