The 39th Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference will be held Feb. 22-23, 2024, in Kearney, at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, 110 Second Ave.

A pre-conference workshop on business entity selection for farms and ranches will be held Feb. 21. This training will be provided by Sheila Hansen, CPA, and agricultural attorney Katie Samples Dean, JD.

During the conference, attendees can look forward to hearing from keynote speakers Ashley Machado, Dr. David Kohl and renowned photographer John Noltner, who is preparing a special surprise project for the event.

In addition to the keynote speakers, participants will select from over 20 workshop options that cover the five areas of agricultural risk management: production, market, financial, human and legal. The conference will also offer Continuing Education Credits for veterinary medicine professionals and certified crop advisors.

“Our annual conference is a real highlight of our programming every year,” said Jessica Groskopf, Director of the Nebraska Women in Agriculture program. “We look forward to bringing together producers, experts and top-notch keynote speakers to leave everyone feeling empowered, enlightened and connected to each other and their operations. This year’s conference will certainly be one to remember.”

About the speakers

Ashley Machado is a TedX speaker and was nominated as a 2023 FFA Change Maker. She is rethinking the way we support mental health in the food and ag space. She specializes in tangible tools and simple strategies through M Well, her mental health consulting firm that provides corporate wellness programs asnd mental health trainings for ag families and businesses. Machado grew up in the dairy industry and now farms and ranches with her family in California’s Central Valley. She has a bachelor’s degree in human development and a master’s in social work with an emphasis in clinical mental health. Her goal is for everyone in the ag industry and rural America to have the tools they need in their mental health toolbox to operate and live life fully.

Dr. David Kohl is an Academic Hall of Famer in the College of Agriculture at Virginia Tech. He has keen insight into the agriculture industry gained through extensive travel, research and involvement in ag businesses. He has traveled nearly 10 million miles; conducted more than 7,000 presentations; and published more than 2,500 articles in his career. Dr. Kohl’s wisdom and engagement with all levels of the industry provide a unique perspective into future trends.

John Noltner has been telling stories with words and images for 20 years. His work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Forbes Magazine, Midwest Living and the New York Daily News, among other publications. Since 2009, Noltner has been asking people the simple (or not so simple) question, “what does peace mean to you?” for his multimedia arts project, “A Peace of My Mind.”

Conference registration is open now. The cost for a two-day registration is $150 for participants who register on or before Feb. 8. The two-day registration fee increases to $175 on Feb. 9. The pre-conference workshop has an additional registration fee.

The Nebraska Women in Agriculture program will award up to 15 scholarships to students to attend the 2024 Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference. Any student attending a four-year college/university, two-year college, a vocational/technical school, or a 4-H or FFA member may apply for a scholarship to attend. Applicants will need to prepare an essay that answers the question: “Why do you want to attend the Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference?” The essay response is limited to 3,000 characters. Applications must be submitted online by Feb.1.

To learn more, visit the Nebraska Women in Agriculture website at https://wia.unl.edu/conference.

This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021-70027-34694.