The Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network (PA-WAgN) supports women in agriculture by providing a positive learning environment, networking, and empowerment.

PA-WAgN members are women farmers, agricultural professionals, and educators committed to supporting and providing educational opportunities to women working in agriculture and ag-related businesses.

PA-WAgN offers:

• Conferences
• Networking
• Mentoring
• On-farm education
• On-line newsletters
  (See Fall/Winter 2007 newsletter and E-News )
• Hands-on workshops
• Programming, including information for women farmers on business planning, farm management, direct marketing, farm equipment and safety, and health. (For a Powerpoint presentation of PA-WAgN 2007 activities, click here. )

• Check out E-News for upcoming events in PA-WAgN regions, items for sale, and opportunities.
  
  
• Attend PA-WAgN's Pastured Lamb Field Day at Jamison Farm in Latrobe, PA. Learn how farmers John and Sukey Jamison produce 5,000 lambs a year, process them on the farm in their own butchering facility, and sell to some of the finest chefs and restaurants in the world. We will tour the farm, including
  • Paddocks for grazing
  • Barns and handling facilities
  • Processing plant and warehouse

  Sukey will discuss maintaining pastures, working the sheep with border collies, and developing proper handling facilities. She will also cover lamb marketing, in particular, marketing at farmers markets. Cost: $15, includes lunch (lamb stew, bread, and beverages).

  To register for this event, select the following link to be directed to PA-WAgN's two-part online registration and payment application:
  http://wagn.cas.psu.edu Register0804.html. To see the agenda, click here (PDF).
  

• Take the Growing Places Business Planning Course through Vermont WAgN. For more information, go to Growing Places.

• Learn more about Pennsylvania's Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) state tax credit program. The program, which was signed into law on July 19, 2007, will improve Pennsylvania's water quality through the use of tax credits for the implemementation of agricultural conservation practices. For more information, visit www.cbf.org .
  

• Complete a PA-WAgN Needs Assessment for Farmers. Help PA-WAgN identify your educational and technical training needs. We are particularly interested in how you learn best, your past experiences with agricultural education programs, and your future needs. Completing this needs assessment will take less than 10 minutes. Please download and read the implied consent form and the needs assessment and print them. After you fill out the needs assessment, please fold, tape, and mail. No postage is necessary. Your responses are completely confidential and your identity will never be associated with your responses. Thank you for helping us bring you better programming!
  
  
• Be Counted! USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) collects and disseminates data on all aspects of agriculture including demographic, production, economics, and the environment. This information is used every day by farmers and ranchers, but also by policy makers, producer groups, researchers, and agribusiness representatives who make decisions that affect you and your farm operation. NASS is committed to counting every farm in the 2007 Census to truly represent agriculture in the U.S. The current definition of a farm is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold in the Census year. As you know, women farm operators have often been undercounted by the Census. NASS has asked PA WAgN to help them improve their list of agricultural operations to ensure that women farmers are counted. NASS data is used to define and promote agriculture. Now is your chance to be counted. To ensure you receive a 2007 Census of Agriculture form contact https://www.agcounts.usda.gov/cgi-bin/counts or call toll-free 800-498-1518.