"Back to Nature" was the theme of the 11th annual Mid-Mo Women in Agriculture Conference which drew about 225 people to the California High School on Business 50, Thursday, April 2.
The morning began with the attendees checking out the many vendors on-site in the commons area.
Following a welcoming message by Nancy Kirby, of the Soil and Water Conservation District, presented in the gym, the attendees selected one or more of the available workshops.
Gathering in the auditorium in the afternoon, Chris Chinn, Missouri Farm Advocate, and part of the family owned Chinn Hog Farm, Clarence, presented "Putting a face on Agriculture." The presentation concerned continuing rural living in the United States in spite of the problem presented by the distance of people from the land. Not many years ago, most people in the Midwest had parents or grandparents who lived on a farm. Many of the young people of today have no idea of what a farm or farming is like. Many of them not only don't know any farmers.
Chinn said a lot of it is because of what people see in the media, especially the social media. When Chinn farms was constructing new hog barns, there were a number of problems, including one person who was 15 miles away complaining about the smell of the hog barns, which were still under construction with no hogs present. The Chinn's just went on with their work, thinking that the neighbors were close enough to farms and farmers to realize the complaints were untrue. Because of the lack of knowledge among so many, Chris Chinn saw the lack of strong voices in the farming community to compete with all of the false and slanted reports, videos and propaganda being put out by those with some kind of an anti-farm agenda. Chinn made a video for YouTube to explain what things were really like on a modern farm. The video was intended among other uses, to be presented in schools. She started a blog, was one of four people selected to represent agriculture through the "The Faces of Farming & Ranching Program" by the US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance in 2013, and was elected to to serve on the Missouri Farm Bureau board of directors. She remains an active voice on the behalf of agriculture.
Chinn and her husband, Kevin, and their two children, Rachelle and Conner, reside on the family's hog farm. She manages the production and financial records for the family's 1,500 sow farrow-to-finish hog operation, as well as the family's feed mill. The couple also have a small cow-calf herd and 140 acres of alfalfa hay.
There were nine workshops. They were each offered at least two times. The workshops were: "Fix Quick, Eat Smart, Be Active" by Megan Webb, MU Extension; "Y' You aren't Pregnant and Other Farm Animal Topics," Dr. Roger Borgmeyer DVM, California Vet Clinic; "Straw Bale Gardening" and "Annie Project," Tricia Barnett, University of Missouri Extension; "Native Flowers and the Birds They Attract," Dana Ripper and Emily Wilmoth, Missouri River Bird Observatory; "Beekeeping is My Hobby," Mike Robertson, Burgher Haus owner; "Small Town Main Streets," Connie Walker, Moniteau County Librarian; "Gardening with Backyard Chickens," Samantha Richardson, Master Gardener; "Cast iron Cooking," Jodi Moulder, PLC, Missouri Department of Conservation; and "Women's Fitness," Tasha Duncan, owner of X-Fit Women.
Following the morning presentation, items collected to fill the "suggested needs" of the Rape and Abuse Crisis Shelter were donated. The list includes items as simple as paper towels and baby wipes and as important as small appliances and gift cards for prescriptions. Also food and clothing items are on the list.