Women in Agriculture Conference: Goat Farming, Buying Land, & More
The 2nd Annual Women in Agriculture Conference in Houston celebrates women farmers, growers and agriculturalists with a 1-day event focused on networking and education.
What are the topics for the Women in Agriculture Conference?
Topics for the 2023 conference included:
- Goat farming
- Tips for finding and purchasing land
- Benefits of composting
- Grants, loans & USDA funding for farmers & growers
- Permaculture basics
- Converting vacant lots into greenspaces for the community
- and more.
Food at the Women in Ag Conference
Breakfast and lunch were served at the conference and both were catered.
From the breakfast buffet.
The turkey, fig jam and brie sandwich lunchbox.
What I learned from the conference
Goat Farming on Small Acreage by Ashley Pellerin James
Ashley is a Program Specialist at Prairie View A&M University and has extensive knowledge about raising goats.
Here’s what stood out to me about Ashley’s talk:
- Check the county, city and deed restrictions. You cannot just put goats on your land because, “it’s my land and I can do what I want!”
- Think ahead. Who is going to take care of your goats while you are on vacation? What about if you get sick?Â
- Understand the stocking rate: The total space available vs what the goats can actually eat. You will need to supplement your goats food supply in the winter, because there will be less food available for the goats to forage.
- Goats have a reputation for eating everything, but that’s not true.
- If a goat is isolating itself, the goat could be in labor or sick.
- Water needs to be in raised troughs to prevent drowning.
What to Know about Buying Land with Natara McNary
Natara has taught engineering courses at Prairie View A&M University and is well-versed in the process of looking for and purchasing land based on her personal experiences.
If you plan to buy land, these are some tips that Natara shared:
- Before buying land, research the mineral rights, easements, delinquent taxes, flood plains, etc.
- Go to your local tax administration office (it might have a different name in your area) to find out the past use of the land you are interested in buying.Â
- Observe what’s happening on the land and around it. For example, if there is no wildlife and/or nothing grows on the land, that can indicate massive problems with the land.
- Be careful of fracking in the area. Fracking can contaminate the groundwater.
- Wildlife exemptions may lead to a tax exemption.
- Your local university extension office can help with soil testing.
Recycling & Composting
Loved seeing containers, clearly marked, that make it easy for attendees to recycle and compost.
About the Location: University of Houston Downtown
The Women in Agriculture conference was held at the Science & Technology Building of the University of Houston Downtown.
Women in Agriculture Scholarships for the Conference
Urban Harvest provided a limited number of scholarships to attend the conference.
Women in Agriculture Conference 2024
The Women in Agriculture Conference for 2024 has not been announced yet.
Check the Urban Harvest website in the fall for the most up to date news on the conference, including how to purchase tickets and how to apply for a scholarship.
