Women learn in relaxed atmosphere

By 
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Published: March 1, 2007

The farmers in this Combine to Customer course were more boisterous than usual, said organizers and grain industry officials.

They gave a whole new dimension to the term ladylike behaviour.

“It’s been a great time,” said Raeanne Renouf of Melfort, Sask., as she toured the Canadian International Grains Institute’s laboratories and processing centre on Winnipeg’s Main Street.

Renouf and 31 other female farmers took part in this special all-woman Combine to Customer course, organized by the Canadian Wheat Board. The program shows prairie farmers how the rest of the grain industry works.

Read Also

View of a set of dumbbells in a shared fitness pod of the smart shared-fitness provider Shanghai ParkBox Technology Co. at the Caohejing Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai, China, 25 October 2017.

Smart shared-fitness provider Shanghai ParkBox Technology Co. has released a new version of its mobile app and three new sizes of its fitness pod, the company said in a press briefing yesterday (25 October 2017). The update brings a social network feature to the app, making it easier for users to find work-out partners at its fitness pods. The firm has also introduced three new sizes of its fitness boxes which are installed in local communities. The new two-, four- and five-person boxes cover eight, 18 and 28 square meters, respectively. ParkBox's pods are fitted with Internet of Things (IoT) equipment, mobile self-help appointment services, QR-code locks and a smart instructor system employing artificial intelligence. 



No Use China. No Use France.

Well-being improvement can pay off for farms

Investing in wellness programs in a tight labour market can help farms recruit and retain employees

Usually the farmer groups are mainly male, but the board found that many women involved in farming were interested in participating but not keen to be the only woman present.

So it set up this all-female group, following the success of similar programs conducted in Saskatchewan.

During their tour of CIGI, the female farmers peppered researchers and staff with questions, showing far more assertiveness than groups of male farmers typically do.

And unlike the commonly reticent groups of male farmers, these women were talkative and joked with each other throughout the course, making it both refreshing and more demanding for officials, who found themselves answering lots of questions they weren’t used to hearing.

Renouf said she found it unusual and comforting to be with the group, because as a full-time farmer she’s often the only woman in a room of farmers.

“You have to be willing to stand out in a crowd,” said Renouf. “I’m often the only lady there.”

Without the men present, these farm women didn’t feel foolish asking what might otherwise be considered dumb questions, one said. Among women, being curious isn’t seen as revealing ignorance.

Jennifer Martens, a 25-year-old farmer from Elbow, Sask., said she was fascinated by the complexity of the grain industry and interested in hearing about the different uses of prairie grains.

“For me, sitting at home on the farm, I can’t go talk to a customer in Japan,” said Martens, who has a biology degree and farms with her husband, his parents and his brother.

“Here I can find out what they’re saying and what they want.”

Renouf said she liked being able to see the end uses for the crops she grows because sometimes the grading specifications seem mysterious.

“I like knowing how what we produce affects the rest of the industry,” said Renouf, a full-time farmer whose husband works off-farm as a doctor.

“It gives me more knowledge for what to grow on the farm at home.”

Most women on farms are seen as the helpers for their husbands, but more women are taking a more active role these days and Martens said she hopes courses like this can help her become a more valuable member of the farm team.

“I’m looking to do more in the field, for the farm,” she said.

For Renouf, being with a group of women also committed to farming helped vindicate her career choice.

“I’m proud to be a farmer,” said Renouf, who is 43 years old and has farmed since the mid-1980s. “I have an accounting background, but I choose to do this. I’d appreciate it more if it was a better living, but I’m trying,” she said with a laugh.

About the author

Ed White

Ed White

explore

Stories from our other publications