This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Doris Mold, co-CEO of Annie's Project, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in agriculture.
Annie's Project was founded in 2003 and named after Annette Kohlhagen Fleck, a woman who married into farming in 1947 and went on to take care of the business side of the farm.
Annie's Project honors her legacy by providing women with the knowledge and confidence to manage farms and agribusinesses successfully.
The organization offers a mix of workshops, courses and online learning aimed at educating women in ag on the business end of running a farm. Topics include risk management, business planning, financial literacy, marketing and legal issues.
"Our mission is to empower women in agriculture to be successful through education networks and resources," said Mold, though she added that the courses are not limited to women participants. "We welcome all comers to Annie's project. So we do have non-women that participate as well."
Still, Mold acknowledged that female-only or nearly female-only classes do help many women feel more comfortable and open to engaging in the learning process.
Annie's Project also prefers, when possible, to use female educators.
"We think it is really important to model that women have knowledge in this area, expertise, and that we really want people to engage," Mold said. "It doesn't mean that a man can't engage with women. There's a lot of terrific men out there. But to really encourage that discussion and that people feel that connection, showing that women have knowledge, that kind of elevates that and says, 'Oh, well, if she knows this, I can learn this too.'"
Annie's Project may be focused on equipping women with the tools to make the best decisions for their farming operation, but its impact goes beyond that: It's making sure everyone, regardless of gender, is ready to take on the current and future challenges facing ag.
"It is going to take the best and brightest of all of us — not just 50% of the population, all of us — to solve the problems and take on the opportunities that we had ahead of us," Mold said. "We can be much better at what we're doing if we figure that out and work collaboratively."
