Women seeking to build on their knowledge of agriculture and farming are invited to attend a presentation in Knoxville next month, the second of a two-part series about business and estate planning for farmers.

Mahaska-Marion Women, Land & Legacy is an outreach program offered by the USDA to help women in agriculture learn more about the business side of farming.

The first session is in Oskaloosa on Monday night, at the Iowa State University Extension; the second will be coming up on Monday, February 25th at Peace Tree Brewing in Knoxville. Each will begin at 6:00 p.m.

“Planning for the Future — Estate Planning for All Ages” will deal with an introduction to farming and estate matters; the Oskaloosa session will be more structured, while the presentation in Knoxville is geared towards open discussion.

Nichole Baxter is with the National Resources Conservation Service, with offices at the USDA in Oskaloosa; she tells KNIA/KRLS News there are more women becoming involved in farming, and the objective of Women, Land & Legacy is to give them a relaxed atmosphere in which to learn some of the finer points of the farming business.

“Farming is male-dominated, but we know that a lot of — Iowa especially — a lot of land is being turned over to women; either through a death in the family or just passed down through the generations. And so a lot more women are becoming more involved in the farming landscape,” Baxter says.

The deadline to RSVP for the Knoxville session is February 15th; you can contact Nicole at (515) 291-2171 to reserve your place.