Kansas State University is hosting a cow camp for women, offering hands-on experience in an industry where practical skills matter.
According to Sandy Johnson, a beef production specialist, “The goal is to try to provide some hands-on experience exclusively for women to provide an environment where nobody feels intimidated about — ‘oh, they expect me to know that or not'— and hopefully this is that type of environment where we can figure out what we do and don’t know and grow basic skills in an environment that’s conducive to building those relationships and learning.”
The camp’s workshops cover key topics like body condition scoring, risk protection strategies, and forage sampling, but the hosts say that the main goal is for women to leave confident in their skills and with a strong sense of community.
“Maybe they find someone with a little more experience that can be their go-to for— ‘oh, I think this is a dumb question, but I can ask Emma about it because she won’t laugh at me for asking it.’ Or you know, whatever level, and after our actual meeting portion is open, I guess we hope to keep this group communicating in some fashion, depending on what their desires are to, you know, keep that conversation going past this meeting date,” Johnson adds.
The two-day event is taking place September 10th and 11th and will be limited to just 40 participants.
