For those who have not heard about Annie’s Project, I begin with a little background information and explanation about past programming in Ohio . Annie’s Project is an educational program dedicated to strengthening women’s role in modern farm enterprises. Annie was a woman who grew up in a small rural community and spent her life learning how to be an involved business partner with her husband. Together they reached their goals and achieved success. Annie’s daughter, Ruth Hambleton, Retired Extension Educator, University of Illinois , founded Annie’s Project in 2000 in honor of her mother.
Annie’s Project is designed to take Annie’s life experiences and share them with other women in agriculture who are living and working in a complex and dynamic farm business environment. The project is a six-week course that focuses on the five broad areas of agricultural risk – human, financial, marketing, production and legal.
The project, which began in Illinois , has now expanded to eighteen states with active programs and two additional states where leaders have been identified. Currently, over 5,000 participants have completed Annie’s Project in the eighteen states.
The program was introduced in Ohio in January 2007. It was held in Wood and Delaware Counties with 47 women participating. The workshops were then expanded in 2008 as the result of a grant from the North Central Risk Management Center . It was offered at six locations and 122 women participated in the project. In 2009, the project was offered in only one county with 20 women completing the class. Over the past three years, 189 women have completed the workshop. We hope to at least double this number in 2010.
Evaluation results from the first nine workshops have been extremely positive. The six month follow-up survey of 2008 participants (response rate of 39%) reported that: 88% became involved with goal setting for the farm and 90% plan to set goals for the following production year. Sixty-seven percent of participants also said that have become more involved in the farm decision making process and half of the group had adopted at least one new risk management practice as a result of the workshop. Annie’s Project is also designed to help women involved in agriculture create a network in their local areas. The workshops held in 2008 appeared to assist with the creation of a network, as 42% reported that they had stayed in contact with other women from their class.
Building on these positive results, the 2010 winter months will feature thirteen Annie’s Project workshops around the state. Each Extension Education and Research Area (EERA) will host at least one workshop; some EERA’s will have more. Please click on the link to see the locations and contact information for 2010 workshop sites. Stay tuned to the Ohio Ag Manager for announcements of specific dates and locations in the coming months.