Women in agriculture attended the 6th Annual Women’s Agricultural Leadership Conference in Ames this week, participating in a variety of workshops and presentations by experienced speakers.
The conference will be held over two days, with a full day of workshops and activities on Tuesday. The event will continue until Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday’s events included a presentation on Grace’s role in leadership, a campus tour, and a leadership workshop.
One of the keynote speakers, agricultural advocate and business owner Amy Cronin, said that including both men and women in the workforce would have a greater impact.
“I think it’s important to promote the different skills that women can bring to the table,” Cronin said. “Better decisions are made when both men and women collaborate and work together.” will be
In a story she plans to share Wednesday, Cronin hopes other women aspiring to the fields of agriculture and business will realize that a simple start can realize countless possibilities. I’m here.
“I want them to understand that the world is their own oyster, that there are all sorts of possibilities, and that everyone needs to start somewhere,” Cronin said.
Cronin said the conference was unlike any other women’s leadership event she had attended in the past because the topics being discussed were real and specific. She believed that the information spoken was something that everyone could take home and use to improve in their respective areas.
Laila Down, owner of Point One Development, presented at the conference’s first public session. Her presentation, entitled “Leading with Grace and Growth,” outlined the importance of grace in leadership.
We defined grace as radical, genuine, compassionate and thriving in empowering behavior. Down said grace should be fundamental to how people interact with others and act in groups.
“There are basics. So what are those basics? I believe it’s about giving grace, just a little bit of grace,” Down said. I don’t think it’s in gigantic form, I don’t think grace is great, I think it’s trivial, I think grace is small.
Daun’s sessions also included simple activities for participants to participate in. Single letters of paper were distributed to the audience during the session. Participants were asked to work with others to form words using their letters.
At the end of the activity, it became clear that some characters had more potential uses than others. Her one participant with R found many applications for her letter, while the other participant with letters like Q found other participants with letters that matched and made words. I had a hard time finding participants.
“Again, I’m not going to say what to think. That’s what we’re talking about here,” Down said. ? ”
Participants were also taken to the Iowa State University campus and given the opportunity to take a tour of the university’s various agricultural facilities. Tours included the Student Innovation Center with Media Experience, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Feed Mills, Poultry and Turkey Farms, Steam Tunnels, CALS History Walks, and the Equine Program Horse and Barn.
Kylie Rosonke, a third-year agriculture major, said she thoroughly enjoyed the first day of the conference, including a tour of the Student Innovation Center, Down’s presentation, and an evening breakout session.
“I loved talking to Lyla Downs. I found it really helpful and informative,” Rosenke said. “And then we did ‘Discovering Your Leadership Strengths’ breakout session. I knew who I was, but I think that really helped narrow it down.”
Kylie Allan is a sophomore in Agriculture and Life Sciences and an intern in Extension and Outreach at Iowa State University. Alan said her experience was unique because she worked part-time with Women in Ag in addition to serving on the committee of the Women in Ag Leadership Conference.
“So me and two other interns went over ideas for who we wanted as speakers and put them forward to the committee,” Alan said. “We looked at historical data, what participants wanted in terms of the day’s layout, specific topics they wanted on the committee, etc.”
Allan said he had the opportunity to participate in the conference both as an organizer and as a participant.
“So as a member of the committee, it’s really nice to have the opportunity to step back and enjoy things most of the time when everything is going well,” Alan said. I’ll give you an introduction, but other than that, you can just absorb it and network with everyone.”
Allan said a big aspect the committee wanted to focus on when planning the conference was opportunities for mentorship and relationship building with other women in the business.
“We have a lot of people from different sides of life, different walks of life. They’re all in different places in generations and careers,” Alan said. It’s really exciting to connect, network and develop mentoring relationships.”
The conference will proceed on Wednesday with further presentations by keynote speakers and capstone speakers. A series of concurrent presentations will also take place on the same day, followed by a panel providing insights on board leadership.
Keystone speaker Cronin will share her leadership journey and 10 lessons she lives through a presentation titled “Changing the World, One Step at a Time.”
Top speaker Cleophus Franklin Jr. will share how to partner, have purpose, and establish a strong advocacy platform through his presentation, Partnerships with Purpose: Building Meaningful Partnerships that Win.