The Energy of Women in Agriculture

What happens when more than 1,100 women converge in Nashville? Aside from laughter and networking, there’s also a contagious energy. It’s the result of a passion for agriculture and the drive to help push the industry forward. Recently, I was one of the 1,100 women who attended the 2023 Women in Agribusiness Summit. This event brought people together from all 50 states and 13 countries. Our goal: share insights and make connections.

The three-day summit was packed full of engaging speakers, time to network, and off-site activities that provided a break from hotel meeting rooms. General sessions ranged from how to tell our story, to AI in rural America, to trends and challenges with ag inputs, to female producers sharing the story of their operations. We could also attend sessions across three tracks based on the content we found most beneficial to our role. I took the opportunity to learn some new things, including more about bio-based crop solutions, transportation, the dairy supply chain, and the biofuels market. It’s always fascinating to learn of the challenges faced and the solutions deployed to help keep agriculture at the forefront.

I’ve had to plan events before but not to this magnitude. It’s a feat to have everything run so smoothly and I believe that’s because the summit was extremely well organized.

There was a great variety of topics, and all the speakers were dynamic and thoughtful in the stories they shared. They were both knowledgeable and vulnerable and captured the attention of the audience.

It’s awe-inspiring to see how many people are passionate about agriculture and are tirelessly working to ensure advancement is made so we can supply food globally. The common bond of agriculture unleashes a contagious energy that is motivating and can be applied to our work to help drive this industry forward.

The next Women in Agribusiness Summit will be held in September 2024 in Denver. I highly recommend attending so you can network with others in the industry and feel more inspired to do your job. I hope to see you there!