Rural Women Address Farm Crisis

The more than 400 women from 10 states, Canada, and the Netherlands who gathered in Des Moines, Iowa, March 4 and 5 for the third annual "Harvesting Our Potential" rural women's conference provided poignant testimony to the fact that the farm crisis is not over. The conference was co-sponsored by Prairiefire Rural Action, Inc. and the Iowa Inter-Agency for Peace and Justice, both based in Des Moines.

Recently, politicians and leaders of the more conservative farm organizations have been extolling the fact that the farm crisis is over. This has been disconcerting to women as they face the day-to-day battle for survival. A session titled "Has the Phone Stopped Ringing: Is the Farm Crisis Over?" was used as a forum to discuss how the farm crisis has changed, the problems farmers are facing, and how to help those who have "gone back into the woodwork" now that their problems are no longer seen as legitimate.

Workshops also challenged women to analyze and evaluate their participation in the ongoing struggle that exists in rural America. Many women who are involved in their local churches have been constantly frustrated by the churches' lack of involvement with issues such as the farm crisis, nuclear disarmament, apartheid in South Africa, and other timely problems.

Rural women often feel the leaders of the church are more interested in caring for the physical structure of the church than caring for those in the church in need. To address these concerns, a workshop titled "The Church and Social Change in the Rural Community" was presented by church and social change organization leaders from the national and the local levels.

Other workshops presented women with practical ways to confront problems they may be experiencing. "Credit Advocacy: Mediation and Ways to Negotiate With Your Lender" offered women in-depth information on current rules and regulations concerning mediation laws. The workshop also offered suggestions on ways to face lenders in situations that may not be comfortable for the borrower.

"Components of Leadership," "Accept Me As I Am," and "Public Speaking: Practical Ways to Overcome Your Fears" were the topics of workshops that focused on empowering rural women. As the rural crisis has slipped into a chronic condition of poverty and alienation in rural America, women have increasingly been called upon to take leadership in working for change.

THE THEME OF THIS YEAR'S conference coincided with Women's History Month, which emphasized writing women back into history. In keeping with the theme, each presenter and workshop facilitator was asked to elevate women's contributions past and present, and to incorporate a future vision for women into their presentations.

Meridel Le Sueur, poet and author from Hudson, Wisconsin, was the keynote speaker. Le Sueur spoke of her involvement throughout her 88 years in reform movements of the Midwest. She inspired the women by saying that she saw more hope now than in any period of her lifetime. A. reading of her well-known poem "Doan Ket" concluded her presentation.

Shirlene Holmes, a doctoral student in the College of Communication and Fine Arts at the University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale, performed her one-woman play "Ain't I A Woman?" Many women who witnessed the performance knew very little about Sojourner Truth's life and were moved by Holmes' portrayal of this historic woman.

In order to give women an opportunity to be away from home and to enjoy the companionship of other women, the conference planners sought to make the conference affordable and accessible to low-income rural women. This was achieved by charging a low registration fee that the committee subsidized through writing grants for scholarships.

Many women indicated on the conference evaluation forms that they would not have been able to come without the low registration fee. In many cases, women stated this was their first opportunity to attend an event of this nature, and the experience was affirming of the work they do in their communities.

The conference format enabled the integration of learning experiences with entertainment and interaction among the participants. The combination of these factors provided women with a memorable experience, and the time away from home gave the women a chance to reflect on ways to integrate this experience into their lives and communities.

Demise O'Brien, a dairy farmer from southwest Iowa, was coordinating the Rural Women's Leadership Development Project for Prairiefire Rural Action, Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa when this article appeared.