Local Food News 

With little recognition by policy, research, and the public in general,  women have always played a key role in ensuring household, community, and global food security. In continuation of last month’s theme of looking at food in the context of social systems, this month we celebrate the ladies, and some of the initiatives contributing to equal recognition and opportunity for women in all areas of agriculture- from production to education & policy.

Word War I & World War II
The Women’s Land Army of America | a.k.a The Farmerettes

Inspired by the ‘Land Lassies’ of Great Brittan, during WWI and WWII the WLAA were a united force to be reckoned with. What started during the first World War as a group of ~20,000 mostly urban, college educated women in the West and Northeast states turned into a literal army of over 1 million women who together took to the fields of farms across the county to make up for farm labor shortages as men went to war or to factory jobs in the cities.

Upon enlisting at a local recruitment office, farmerettes were sent to training camps before being 'deployed' to area farms identified in some cases by County Extension. Initially recruitment and training was supported by farm owners themselves, as well as groups like the YMCA and various horticulture & gardening associations, but in 1943 the U.S. Congress allocated funds for the Emergency Farm Labor Service, which provided public support for recruitment, training, and placement of laborers, including the WLAA.

Today agricultural training explicitly targeting women takes on a different form. Programs like Annie’s Project and Women Farming & Agricultural Network (WFAN) provide a diverse array of programs for both  aspiring female producers and female landowners, to effectively learn and tackle issues together with services ranging from mentorship to business planning education to farm succession planning support. 

Click the logos below to learn more

               
Are you interested in lending your hand on a local farm? Let us know! Many local food producers throughout the growing season need hard-working farmhands to assist with various tasks from planting to harvest.

To learn more about the Womens' Land Army of America Here, Here, and Here. See also Victory Gardens.

Delivering Facts People Understand - Inspiring the Environmental Movement
Rachel Carstens publishes Silent Spring (1962)

One cannot talk about the history of women in local foods without mentioning the pivotal work of Rachel Carson. With her famous novel, Silent Spring, Carson provided the public with an accessible review of the scientific research of the time alongside real-life anecdotes of the impacts of pesticide use on humans and non-humans. By bringing to light research on the risks of broad spectrum insecticides, Carstons laid the groundwork for the enviromental movement which would push for, among other things, public funding for research on the impacts of pesticides on environmental & public health as well as education & research on alternative practices. 

Today researchers across the county, including our own researchers at The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at ISU continue to investigate and promote understanding of alternative agricultural practices through initiatives that include The Long-Term Agroecological Research (LTAR) experiment at the ISU Neely-Kinyon Research &Demonstration Farm, one of the longest running comparisons of organic and conventional crops in the country.

To learn more about cutting edge organic and alternative farming research going on at ISU today, check out the 2014-2015 Annual Report: Trees  To learn more about the role of public funding of research at the at the Leopold Center Click Here: Funding

Fighting for Equity in the USDA: Access to Capital 
Justice in the Farm Service Agency (2000-Present)

The USDA was one of the last government agencies to have women and minorities in leadership positions, and has a long history of discrimination against these groups. Specifically, discrimination in USDA Farm Loan programs, which have been administered at the local level almost exclusively by white male committees empowered with the power to apply subjective standards to determine farmer eligibility came to light with the lawsuit Love v. Vilsack initially filed in 2000 by a number of women farmers against the USDA for gender discrimination from 1981 to1996 and from October 19, 1998 to the present.

Eleven years after the initial lawsuit was filed, in February 2011, USDA announced its launch of a program for resolving discrimination claims against the agency stating that $1.33 billion in compensation and $160 million in farm debt relief would be made available to those with legitimate claims, plus $50,000 for each woman farmer claimant who could prove that the USDA discriminatorily denied her a loan or loan servicing between 1981 and 2000. 

Perhaps even more exciting than the prospect of justice being brought to those who were discriminated against in the past are the proactive efforts by the USDA to ensure greater equity moving forward. Today in part due to these lawsuits, the USDA is making a concerted effort to ensure equal opportunity for women and minorities with regards to accessing loans and other financial services, taking actions which include: 

• Intentionally recruiting women to local & federal leadership positions 

• Creating targeted funding programs through the Farm Service Agency for 'Socially Disadvantaged' farmers including women which includes: Microloans, Operational Loans, Conservation Loans and Emergency loans

  Click on the logo below to learn more about funding opportunities for women through the USDA Farm Service Agency 

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If you are interested in updates from Iowa State University Extension & Outreach specifically geared towards women in ag (or if you know someone who might be) sign up for the the new ISU Extension & Outreach  Women in Agriculture monthly Newsletter! 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

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"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped."

- Robert Kennedy 

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Carolyn Scherf
Local Food Coordinator
Dubuque County Iowa State Univeristy Extension & Outreach
563 583 6496 / cscherf@iastate.edu
#StrongIowa

 Learn about Agroforestry
 THIS ST. PATRICK'S DAY

 Free Workshop for Graziers & Landowners

Looking for a way to diversify your farm income while also achieving conservation goals? Check out Agroforestry! 

A free forestry seminar on Profitable Tree Crops and Grazing Systems will be held on Thursday, March 17, 6-8 p.m. at the Hurstville Interpretive Center, Maquoketa. Grant Schultz of VersaLand Farm in Johnson County will be presenting on how his farm is now an emerging 145-acre agroforestry savanna after being row cropped for years.

Grant is an organic perennial farmer, who combines fruit and nut trees and shrubs, plus livestock and alley crops.

Forester, Kevin Oetkin will also be available to give an update on the forestry market and to answer questions.

For more information or questions, please contact Lori Schnoor @ 563-652-2337 ext. 3 or lori.schnoor@ia.usda.gov.

 RIVERBEND BUY FRESH BUY LOCAL CHAPTER PRESENTS: 
Farmer Mixers for Beginning, Established, & Transitioning Farmers

Light   Meal  &  Free  Refreshments  Provided

• Group Marketing with Iowa Food Hub

• High Tunnel Cost-Share

• Organic Transition for Grain & Vegetable Producers

• USDA Microloans

• Local Foods Resources & Workshops

  
  Jackson County: Tuesday March 22 5:30-8
  5:30-8 @ Hurtsville Interpretive Center RSVP to Lori Schnoor by 3/15 - Lori.Schnoor@ia.usda.gov or call 563 652 2337 ext. 3
• Jones County Tuesday March 29 5:30-8
  5:30-8 @ Jones County Extension Office RSVP to Joe Wagner by 3/22 - joseph.wagner@ia.usda.gov or call 319 462 3196

Since 2009, USDA has invested in over 29,100 local food opportunities including food hubs, farmers markets, over 12,000 loans & micro-loans to small-scale producers as well as support for constructing of over 13,000 high tunnels.

Are you interested in expanding local foods on your farm?  Organized by Riverbend Buy Fresh Buy Local, this event is open to all individuals interested in taking advantage of new market opportunities and growing local foods in Eastern Iowa.