Soil Sisters (PDF)

Women in agriculture are sprouting up in record numbers, but they face a host of distinct challenges and opportunities. Blending What Color is Your Parachute-style career advice with sustainable agriculture practices viewed through a gender lens, Soil Sisters provides a wealth of invaluable information for fledging female farming entrepreneurs.The first manual of its kind, this authoritative and comprehensive blueprint presents practical considerations from a woman's perspective, covering everything from business planning to tool use and ergonomics to integrating children and family in farm and field operations. Key topics include: Finding your niche: mid-life encore careers, younf and beginning, Boomerangs, and more From concept to crop: diversified farm start-up basics Resources, grants,and loans available especially for women farmers.Soil Sisters also containscase studies, inspirational ideas, and savvy advice nuggets from overone hundredsuccessful women farmers and advocates.Targeted specifically to members of the fastest-growing demographic in local agriculture, this highly readable guide is practical and pragmatic Chick Lit for todays food scene. Lisa Kiviristis SeniorFellow, Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems at the Minnesota Institute forSustainable Agriculture and a national advocate for women in sustainable agriculture. She founded and directs the Rural Womens Project of the MidwestOrganic Sustainable Education Service, an award-winning initiativechampioning female farmers and food-basedentrepreneurs. Togetherwithher husband, John Ivanko, Lisa is co-author ofHomemade for Sale,FarmsteadChef,ECOpreneuring,andRural Renaissance.Lisa and her family run Inn Serendipity Farm and Bed& Breakfast, completely powered by the wind and sun in the rolling greenhills of southern Wisconsin.