More than 30 eastern Iowa women landowners have a great deal more knowledge--and confidence--about implementing conservation on their farmland this spring through WFAN’s project, Women Caring for the Land. The women met once in county groups, then visited area farms to see conservation practices on the ground. A final large-group meeting in April focused on how to negotiate conservation practices into tenant leases, a topic the women chose as most timely and helpful.

“This has been so informative and helpful,” commented one landowner on her evaluation form. “I’m excited for the future of my father’s farm.”

Laura Krouse of Mt. Vernon, a farmer, soil commissioner, and educator, facilitated the eastern Iowa pilot project, and found the experience as valuable as the participants did. “I have had my eyes opened in ways I never expected,” she said at the final meeting.

Women Own Half the Farmland

Women own or co-own nearly 50 percent of Iowa’s farmland right now. WFAN’s work with nearly 1,000 women landowners over the past 10 years has revealed a strong conservation ethic among these women. Many say they would choose conservation over maximizing farm income in order to preserve the farm’s viability and the quality of the air, land and water around it. They hope to leave the farm to a young beginning farmer and keep it in the hands of a member of the community rather than selling it to a corporation or absentee owner.

However, internal and external barriers have kept women from asserting themselves during the decision-making process about their own resource – the land. A high percentage of women who own land are widows and of an aged population.

Many of them are not confident that they know enough about the land and farming to make decisions. However, over the years many women have participated intimately in the farming operation and have a strong knowledge base about farming practices. What generally happens is that they defer the final decision to their partner, be it their husband, brother, son, nephew or neighbor.

An external barrier is the way that women are perceived in the governmental agencies that deliver services to farmers. Technicians and support staff are generally male and many women report they feel a patronizing attitude towards them when visiting these offices.

The majority of the women who participated in the program have inherited farmland from their husbands or fathers. They are part of a nationwide upward trend in female land ownership, both as operators and owners who rent to tenants.

Conservation Leasing

Many of the women do not use lease documents, a common situation among Iowa’s farmers. But they were encouraged to begin using them as their most important tool in achieving the conservation goals they want to accomplish.

Margaret Smith, an Extension staffer and herself both a landlady and a tenant in northern Iowa, spoke at the last meeting on April 15 in Lisbon, IA. She provided the group with a large variety of written resources to help them create and negotiate a farm lease with their tenant farmers.

“If you only remember one thing from tonight, remember this,” said Smith. “You are the owner of the land, and that means you have the power to get the conservation practices you want done on your farm.”

Women Caring for the Land will continue through 2009. The next meeting will be in June for Hamilton and Webster County landowners. Another set of meetings is being planned for September and October at White Rock Conservancy in Carroll and Guthrie Counties in western Iowa.

For information, call Leigh Adcock, 515 460 2477.