Women in Agriculture will discuss markets, soil, water

ANKENY — "Sowing Our Stories … Beyond the Farm Gate" is the theme of the annual Iowa Women in Agriculture Conference at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny July 31.

The conference will explore the challenges of agriculture's evolving financial and trade climate, including commodity market scenarios, soil and water quality initiatives, lender's outlook for 2025-26, prospects for a new farm bill, tariffs and taxes and the latest on land values and transition planning.

The Conference kicks off at 8:15 a.m. and concludes at 4:30 p.m.

Am energetic trio of ag legislative, commodity and industry experts will kick off the conference with timely insights on tariffs, taxes, farm bills and ag forecasts.

Katie Hall, Iowa Soybean Association senior director of advocacy, Steph Carlson, National Pork Producer Council assistant vice president of state and national relations, and Kristin Stien, Ever. Ag grain market adviser, will anchor this panel.

Ruth McCabe, certified professional agronomist leads the Conservation Team at Heartland Co-op. A passionate advocate for sustainable farming practices in the Midwest, McCabe specializes in cover crop, prairie management and edge-of-field structures.

As a 2022 Nuffield Scholar, she traveled and studied global conservation practices in grain producing countries. She will share the pros and cons in her presentation, Around the World in Search of Conservation Strategies: Top Take Aways for Ag Women.

Kristin Stien, grain market adviser at Ever. Ag will share Smart Strategies for Mastering the Grain Market and Forging Farm Success. She developed a passion for agriculture and people in the ag industry while growing up on her family's Iowa farm, and pursued a degree in agricultural business from Iowa State University.

Stien has worked in commodity marketing since graduation. She enjoys engaging clients in conversations focusing on profitability, risk-monitoring and management and the future of their operations. She and her husband, Luke, and their three children live and work on their farm near Atkins.

During the luncheon, Iowa Women in Agriculture will shine a spotlight on the recipients of the IWIA 2025 Lifetime Achievement in Agriculture and Winds of Change Up and Comer Awards.

The conference includes breakout sessions about various topics.

Angie Treptow, senior vice president of retail operations and customer experience for Farm Credit Services of America, will talk about Lending and Leadership in a Time of Uncertainty.

Jennifer Harrington is an attorney at Buchanan, Bibler, Gabor and Meis in Algona where her practice focuses on estate, business and agricultural law, with an emphasis on farm succession planning. She will discuss Farm Succession for Realists: Legal and Tax Tools to Make It Work.

Harrington has worked as a staff attorney at the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University, where she helped to produce the Estate and Succession Planning for the Farm workbook.

Linda Shenk, Iowa State University associate professor and Tamara Deal, Guthrie County landowner, will team up to present Inviting Others to Join Your Ag Story, a community building/storytelling workshop with a focus on agriculture.

Natalie Kovarik will challenge in her capstone address, Fortune Favors the Brave: Harvesting Success in Agriculture Through Acts of Bravery. As co-host of the top-ranked podcast, Discover Ag, she shares ranch life from her home base at Kovarik Cattle Company in the heart of the Nebraska Sandhills with her husband, Luke, and three sons.

A welcome and networking reception is set for Wednesday, July 30 at 5-7 p.m. at Reclaimed Rails Brewing Company in Bondurant, with featured speaker Ashley Hunter from Purple Ribbon Beef, a multigenerational farm near Britt.

Following the reception, participants are welcome to end their day with a stroll through the Bondurant Farmers Market.

Participants can attend an afternoon pre-conference tour July 30 featuring local food production and entrepreneurship, hosted in cooperation with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Women in Agriculture Program.

The tour begins at The Holton Homestead in Elkhart where the group will visit a bee yard, commercial honey kitchen and farm store. The group also will travel to Pine Grove Family Farms in Bondurant where the Smith family works together to raise beef and pork for local direct markets and offers an on-farm store.

Route maps will be provided to help participants locate individual tour sites. Participants are asked to drive their own vehicles and carpool when possible for the tour. There will be one or two ISU vans available, for those who request group travel.

Early bird registration will be $75 until July 28, and $100 following that date and at the door. Registration will include the pre-conference tour, evening welcome reception, and continental breakfast, lunch, and snacks at the conference.

Register online in advance on the IWIA website, by mail, or from 7:15 a.m.-8 a.m. on the day of the conference. Room blocks for July 30 have been set up at the Courtyard at Marriott-Ankeny, 2405 SE Creekview Drive; and the Residence Inn, 1515 SW Main Street; Ankeny, IA 50023; register by June 30, 2025 for the Residence Inn, and by July 7 for the conference rates.

Early bird registration is required for those attending the Pre-Conference Tour. For questions about the tour, or to reserve a seat in an ISU van, contact Madeline Schultz at 515-294-0588.

For conference information, contact IWIA president Cheryl Tevis at 515-353-4425 or visit iowawomeninag.org for a full Conference agenda and registration details.