AMES, IA--Women who own or manage farmland in three eastern Iowa counties – Johnson, Jones and Linn – are invited to "A Conversation About Farm Leasing" on Wednesday, April 15. The meeting is the last in the "Women Caring for the Land" series for women who are farm partners, sole owner-operators, or inheritors of any size farm and who want to improve conservation practices on their farmland.

 

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with a buffet dinner at Gwen's Restaurant, 119 W. Main St. in Lisbon (pay your own).

 

The program will begin at 7 p.m. The speaker will be Margaret Smith, co-owner and operator of Ash Grove Farm, near Hampton, IA. She and her husband raise crops and livestock, and both own and rent land using crop share leases and cash leases. She will lead "A Conversation about Farm Leasing," and will address:

•what types of farm leases are available

•compare cash renting with crop share leases and talk about why an owner might prefer one method over the other

•go over the yearly time schedule for leases and owner/operator discussions

•discuss how to express your wants and needs about your land to othersand offer ideas about where to go for additional information about farm leases.

The group will also talk about how to read your conservation plan, and if there is time, see a short conservation/water quality video. Information handouts will be available.

 

For more information, contact project coordinator Laura Krouse of Mt. Vernon at 319-895-6924. This project is sponsored by Women, Food and Agriculture Network in partnership with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), with funding from the McKnight Foundation.