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Women entrepreneurs face significant challenges in accessing funding, training and business support. To help bridge these gaps the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is partnering with the NASDA (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture) Foundation and the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) to help. The three-part project consists of a survey, a competition and business accelerator program. The goal is to offer women who own or operate farms, ranches, food or beverage businesses a hand up so they can grow and succeed.
“We need the public’s help in finding women to participate and compete in this agribusiness program,” said ODA Director, Alexis Taylor. “These are real dollars, skills and training that can help women launch or scale-up their farm, food or beverage business in Oregon. I encourage women to apply and be a part of this valuable experience.”
Survey
To determine what women in Oregon and Washington need the NASDA Foundation launched an online survey on December 2. The responses will inform the training and the development of a women’s business accelerator program due to launch in the fall/winter 2019. If you know a woman who owns a farm/ranch or a farm-based food business in Oregon please share the survey link. It’s open through January 31, 2019.
https://women-in-ag.questionpro.com./
2019 Women Farm to Food Business Competition
In an effort to recruit women the NASDA Foundation is sponsoring a Women Farm to Food Business Competition. Women from Oregon and Washington will compete for a total of $40,000 in funds to launch, grow or scale their business. Please share the link to the online application. The competition opens January 1, 2019. Finalists will attend the NASDA Winter Policy Conference February 26 and 27, 2019 in Arlington, Virginia. https://www.nasda.org/foundation/women-in-agriculture.
Women Farm to Food Accelerator Program
Both the survey and the competition will help launch the NASDA Women Farm to Food Accelerator Program later next year. This is a 90-day program that will offer training, skill building and networking all tailored to the needs of women in agribusiness.
Contact:
For questions about the NASDA Foundation projects, please contact Amy Gilroy agilroy@oda.state.or.us or 503-872-6600.
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