The Women Farmers Aging Strong project roots in collaboration between women farmers:  

How can we best support and learn from each other as we together want to run our farm businesses for as long as we choose? See our team members here.

 

Learning Circle, Peer-Based Education

A theme throughout the history of Women Farmers Aging Strong is the use of peer-based education through the Learning Circle model. Learning Circles utilize women-only settings (both in-person and virtual) to create an open and welcoming educational environment of cooperative sharing, asking questions and fostering support.

 

Additionally, a unique aspect of this program is it is fully run and facilitated by a women farmer team (link to team bios).  This peer-based educational focus created both a community of authenticity and trust as well as opportunity for story sharing and connections.

 

Core Components

Through testing and tweaking through participant feedback, Women Farmers Aging Strong evolved to three core elements:

• Learning Circles
  Monthly virtual sessions along with some in-person Learning Circles created the core of the program curriculum, each session focused on a specific topic of interest and involving peer-led movement session, topic education and discussion.  A unique aspect of these Learning Circles is a story-sharing component where a woman on the team shares personal challenges and learnings related to the topic. 

• Virtual Retreat
  A three-day (90 minutes each day) virtual retreat provides more detail into body mechanics, including specific exercises during the session and with video recordings for follow-up.  

• Collaborative Resources
  A variety of resources came together through Women Farmers Aging Strong, collecting input and ideas from both the team and attendees based on interests and expertise.  These resources are now archived in the Wellness Toolbox (add link) for a wider audience of women farmers.

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Partnerships & Funding

This concept was first tested as part of The Farm Labor Dashboard, led by the University of Vermont with Renewing the Countryside one of the partnering organizations. The Farm Labor Dashboard covers a wide range of tips, tools, and techniques to effectively recruit, hire, train, and retain workers , including a priority of outreach to women farmers through the Learning Circle model. 

 

Women Farmers Aging Strong started as a stand-alone program first through funding from The Northeast Extension Risk Management Education Center, project award no. 2023-70027-40447 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.  Appreciation to Beth Holtzman for her leadership and project management.

 

Women Farmers Aging Strong then further expanded and evolved through funding from The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, project award no. 2024-70027-42470 from the U.S. Department of  Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.