Arkansas Farm Bureau will host its state Women’s Conference March 8-9 at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock.

The conference draws members who are part of county women’s committees across the state. Farm Bureau women help accomplish the organization’s mission by working with local schools; donating funds and food to organizations that help those in need; and educating consumers and children about agriculture and where they get their food, fiber and fuel.

Conference workshops on Friday afternoon will address estate planning, new Ag in the Classroom lessons and UAMS’s AR SAVES program. Saturday morning’s sessions will address the cost to families of the new national health care plan; flower planting for color by Brian Kirksey of Spring Creek Nursery, the nutritional benefits of beef; and a legislative update by Farm Bureau Federation’s Governmental Affairs staff. The conference concludes with a lunch and address by Arkansas Farm Bureau president Randy Veach.

“The women of Farm Bureau are actively engaged in telling people about this country’s efficient, safe and affordable food and how it’s produced on the farm,” said Janet Marsh, Farm Bureau’s State Women’s Committee chairwoman. “It’s an important effort, because today’s consumers have little if any connection or understanding of farming and ranching life.”

From a variety of Ag in the Classroom activities to informing people how safe and affordable our food is, the women of Farm Bureau enthusiastically represent the organization, telling the farming story.

Most recently, Farm Bureau women’s committees across the state participated in Food Check-Out Week last month in their communities by making food and cash donations to local food banks and women’s shelters, and setting up displays and having conversations about agriculture with shoppers at supermarkets.