If you’ve been driving along a Kansas highway or byway and have seen a sign featuring an overflowing grocery sack and the words, “1 Kansas Farmer Feeds More Than 155 People + You!” then you have seen a major project of the American Agri-Women organization.
The reality is, if you ask 10 people who regularly see those signs what group supports them, they probably won’t know. The newly elected president of the organization, Lori Bammerlin of Council Grove, would like to change that.
“My hope for being president is that we gain more visibility and maybe one or two signature events that Kansas Agri-Women become known for,” Bammerlin says. “We have the signs and our members are involved in supporting a number of other organizations, especially Farm Bureau, but I’d like to see us have an ‘identity’ event.”
Bammerlin says she believes that will come from a consistent outreach to a wider, more diverse group of women who will bring in new ideas.
“I want to stress that our membership is open to any woman with a passion for agriculture and rural Kansas,” Bammerlin says. “You don’t have to be a farmer or a farm wife or even live on a farm. If you have a connection to agriculture or a passion for agriculture, we’d welcome you to membership.”
