URBANDALE, Iowa — Farmers from all over the Midwest are invited to the 2nd annual Iowa Farmers of Color Conference on Nov. 16.
This event is open to farmers and farm allies of all backgrounds. It will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by a social gathering, at Living History Farms at 11121 Hickman Rd. in Urbandale, Iowa.
Registration is appreciated by Nov. 11, although walk-ins are welcome. You can register here.
The event is an opportunity for farmers to connect with each other, as well as local resources. Representatives from the USDA, NRCS, FSA and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's office will be in attendance, as well as Cargill, Syngenta and Choose Iowa.
There will be panels, breakout sessions and discussions of youth farming, strategic planning, how to stay in business, grains and more.
The goal is to bring farmers of all colors together for networking, building bridges and connecting to local resources.
2023's inaugural edition of the event brought in around 120 people. Afterward, event co-founder Todd Western said Vilsack reached out to commend the group on their efforts.
This year, the group Iowa Farmers of Color is hoping for at least 150 attendees.
"In 1944, approximately 14% of farmers [nationally] were people of color. Today, it's less than 1.4%. That's an alarming number," Western said. "In the state of Iowa, there are a total of 75 farms owned by people of color."
Western added that the majority of those POC-owned farms in Iowa are only one to nine acres in size, while only 24% are 50 to 500 acres.
When asked about the success of 2023's conference, Western could sum it all up through a conversation he had with one of its attendees.
"I talked to an elderly lady afterward, and I said, 'How do you like the conference?' And she said, 'It was food for my soul,'" Western said. "So when I heard that, I knew it was on to something."
He says at the end of the day, having conferences like this gives people a chance to lean on each other and take motivation from their community.
"Because farming, no matter what color you are, is hard. It's discouraging sometimes. But particularly when you're a farmer of color, you have different challenges," Western said. "This just gives more motivation. It gives camaraderie and it helps build a community."
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