American Agri-Women Fly-In to Washington, DC!

Thank you to everyone who registered for Fly-In.

We are at Max Capacity – Sold Out!

Each year in June, American Agri-Women hosts a Legislative Fly-In for members interested to speak to their legislators, agencies, and other professionals in Washington D.C. about current agricultural issues and policies while relying upon your own opinions as well as the AAW Position Statements. We also explore the city and its major historical sites. Registration covers meeting expenses, supplies and incidentals.

The AAW Past President’s Council will host the 27th AAW Symposium at USDA. This year the topic is: Energy: Rebirth, Renew, Refuel headlined by Paul Winters, Clean Fuels America, Kathy Reding Bergren, National Corn Growers Association, and Hillary Leach, John Deere.  Our Moderator is Jeff Nalley, contributing editor for Agri-Pulse and Farm Broadcaster for Cromwell AG Network, which serves farmers in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio.   

This year, AAW will host a Special Event at the National Press Club “Russia – Ukraine War: A Looming Global Food Supply Crisis” A discussion on impending shortages of food, fuel, fiber, and pharmaceuticals – Is the world prepared? Joining us for this conversation are Frank Gaffney, Vice President & CEO, Center for Security Policy; Dr. Roger Cryan, Chief Economist, American Farm Bureau; Marsha Blackburn, United States Senator – Tennessee; Michelle Fischbach, United States Representative – Minnesota; and Kris Lovejoy, Global Security & Resilience Practice Leader, Kyndryl.

Members meet with high level agriculture related agencies, such as USDA, EPA, DOI, and sometimes with White House representatives.  Members also meet with members of congress to discuss priority AAW issues and for some, home state issues.

June 5 – 7, 2022 at Embassy Suites by Hilton – Crystal City – Arlington, VA

                               ITINERARY HERE

AAW President’s Message

Celebrating Women and Ag with Teamwork!

Teamwork makes the dreamwork! So true.  And so perfect for the spring when we celebrate agriculture and amazing women!

The past two months have provided me a front row seat at meetings of Oregon Women for Agriculture and Montana Agri-Women annual meetings as well as AAW Mid-Year in Utah.

What a blessing because each opportunity provided a chance to see women of all ages and varied backgrounds at their best. From the planning and hospitality to the thoughtful deliberations and consideration of differing points of view and the agreement and enthusiasm to take action together to achieve shared goals.
THESE are the dreams made possible through teamwork.

Wyoming Women in Agriculture have provided another example of teamwork with their involvement with First Lady Jenny Gordon, other farmers and ranchers to end child hunger in Wyoming.  Please check out the project and videos at the links below.

This spring of teamwork has been topped off with cheering on our daughter’s 7^th grade volleyball team to win State Runner Up (2^nd Place) in Illinois.  No one saw it coming when the season started in December.  Seriously.  But they ended with a record of 26 and 2 and 1 tie.

Watching our daughter’s team brought back memories of playing volleyball with people from my high school, other towns in club ball and then other countries my junior year at Nottingham University. While there are many lessons to draw from, including the importance of family, the top two for today are continuous improvement and communications.

After playing with teammates from England, Germany and Hong Kong (and a coach from France) in college, it became especially clear that although we each speak English, we all have very different experiences behind what we want to say and slightly different interpretations or meanings behind the words we choose.  Sometimes in the heat of action, just calling it out, “Mine!” in volleyball is all you can do to keep the game flowing and avoid injuries.  In between plays, as our daughter’s team figured out, it’s important to encourage each other and clarify who is doing what.

That’s what I saw our AAW members doing at their annual meetings and at our Mid-Year.  They brought their “A” game with thoughts on key issues we need to address, then asked questions, clarified understanding, helped each other find the words to say what we mean in a way others can understand.  And most importantly, thought about how we can put our words into action.

And the second role of teamwork is recognizing that we play to level of our competition.  This means we must continually improve to not only meet, but exceed competition.  Your Executive Team of elected officers is dedicated to continually improving how we deliver value on our mission.

You have several opportunities to engage coming your way: educational webinars in April and May to be announced very soon; Fly-In registration is open now; Champion of Agriculture nominations due this Friday; and our revised position statements will be in your inbox with the spring edition of the Voice due out by early May. And there is much more in the works.

Thanks for letting me serve as ‘Coach’ of your AAW team for the time being.  Looking forward to seeing you at Fly-In June 5-8 or at Convention in Bozeman, Montana with activities booked from Nov. 2-6 (most of the general member meetings will be the 4th-5th).

As Dad says, “Keep on keepin’ on!” and give someone a high five today for a job well done. Thank you All for ALL you do!

Sincerely,
Heather Hampton+Knodle, President
American Agri-Women

aawpresident@americanagriwomen.org

AAW President was recently interviewed by Agribusiness Today.

Click here to view:

January, 2022 Agribusiness Today Interview with Heather Hampton-Knodle

Each year in November, American Agri-Women hosts a National Convention to bring members and affiliate members together for leadership and professional development sessions, speakers, and to host our annual business meeting.

Mark your calendar for the 48th Annual AAW Convention

November 2 – 6, 2022

Do you hear them? The Mountains are Calling, the mountains in Bozeman, Montana, to be specific. Join Montana Agri-Women as they host the American Agri-Women National Convention on November 2-6, 2022.
Montanans like to say our state is easy to get to, hard to leave. Travel is effortless because most major airlines fly into Bozeman, Mont., at relatively inexpensive fares. Traveling continues with ease as the host hotel, The Best Western GranTree Inn, offers a complimentary shuttle from the airport and a favorite spot for locals and visitors: Bozeman’s quaint yet vibrant Main Street located downtown, Bozeman. This option is perfect for attendees who wish to enjoy Bozeman’s unique foodie experience and niche shopping opportunities.
The convention will showcase the beauty of Montana and what it means to be in Montana agriculture. Before the usual AAW business meetings, Montana Agri-Women plan to start convention with style at the “Meat & Greet.” Notice the “meat” may look like an error, but it is the correct reference to the kick-off event. Attendees will be right in the middle of Beef Country, and what better way to welcome AAW members and guests than with some tasty beef treats. This “ladies’ night in” will also offer many unique vendors specific to fashion with a networking style show.
No convention is complete without tours, and Montana Agri-Women created a diverse educational tour during convention and post-convention. Both tours will give participants a glimpse of the western way of life, from barley to beef and everything in between. The post-tour allows learning a little about American royalty – The Copper King and underground tours in Butte, Mont. The post-tour concludes with an evening and an overnight stay at a Montana favorite, Fairmont Hot Springs.
The convention is packed with speakers between the tours, including a panel specific to reaching urban audiences and telling our unique agricultural story. Other speakers include experts on Montana natural resources, grizzly bears, and a featured inspirational speaker. Follow Montana Agri-Women’s social media for future speaker spotlights. During the AAW business meeting, tours are available for guests and spouses, including the Agricultural Science department and farm, through Montana State University and the Museum of the Rockies.
Arrangements for this convention would not be possible without the generous support of our Granite Peak partners, Alltech and Northwest Farm Credit. Alltech helps farmers and ranchers feed the world, raise healthy plants and animals, and protect the environment through nutrition and scientific innovation. Northwest Farm Credit works to improve the lives of customers and employees, the communities where they work and raise families, and the Northwest agriculture, food, and fiber industries that perform a vital role in the United States and around the world.
We hope you answer the call and meet us in Bozeman this fall.
Contacts: Meghan Foran, meghanforan@outlook.com
Kellie Kittelmann, kellie@nutralix.com
Katie Yost, katie@nutralix.com