The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension’s Heart of the Farm-Women in Agriculture program will host a statewide ZOOM conference to introduce a new online ‘Coffee Chats’ series, May 8, 2020 from 1-2:15 pm.

The Heart of the Farm-Women in Agriculture Conference series is an Extension program that addresses the needs of farm women by providing education on farm business topics, connecting them with agricultural resources and creating support networks.

The keynote speaker for the ‘Coffee Chats’ series is Jess Peters from Spruce Row Farm in Meadville, PA. Jess will share her thoughts on the resiliency of farmers and ideas on getting through these crazy times. Spruce Row Farm is family owned and operated by the Peters family; they milk 275 Jerseys. In addition to working on the family farm, Jess runs the Spruce Row Farm Facebook page, is an advocate for the dairy industry and a blogger for Hoard’s Dairyman. She also started the project “Our Ag Secrets” – an online platform that allows people to post anonymously the things they might be afraid to say aloud – it’s a place to vent about family, release fears for the future, or share the things a person loves/hates about being a farmer.

After the keynote presentation is an interactive session, “Balancing Act or is it a Three Ring Circus?” where women can connect with others who share the same experiences and challenges. During this session, participants will discuss current timesaving tips to use at home or on the farm.

The final portion of the online conference will be spent sharing topics for the rest of the “Heart of the Farm Coffee Chats” series and how to sign up for the session that best fits your schedule.

Register online for the May 8, 2020, 1-2:15 pm Heart of Farm ‘Coffee Chats’ Wisconsin kickoff meeting with this Heart of the Farm link: https://go.wisc.edu/0c267p. Once registered, you will receive meeting connection information (website link and phone number). Registered participants will only need the meeting website link or phone number to participate in the meeting.

More information can be found on the Heart of the Farm website http://fyi.uwex.edu/heartofthefarm/, by calling your local UW-Madison Division of Extension County office, or contact Jenny Vanderlin, jenny.vanderlin@wisc.edu, 608-263-7795.