WOMEN IN FARMING THEME OF FALL EVENT

Women's role on the farm is expanding.

At mid-afternoon Monday, Cindy Faulkner was heading out to spray cotton.

"I drive the tractor, cotton picker or combine -- whatever has to be done," said Faulkner, who operates a 1,000-acre grain farm with her husband near New Madrid.

"We coordinate what needs to be done and we do it," she said.

The Faulkners raise soybeans, cotton, corn and wheat.

Faulkner isn't sure if she will be able to attend the fifth annual Women in Agriculture conference in Cape Girardeau this fall.

"The conference falls in September," said Faulkner. "It all depends on where we're at here on the farm."

Today's farm woman is no longer the traditional housewife taking care of the garden, putting up vegetables, cooking for farm hands and doing the washing and ironing. As farming has grown more complex and varied, so has the woman's roles in agriculture. Women may work the fields, run the home, handle finances, manage and care for livestock. And some take jobs off the farm for extra money and benefits, especially a health-care plan.

The Women in Agriculture conference is a statewide event that will be held Sept. 13 through 15 at the Holiday Inn in Cape Girardeau. Besides workshops, the conference will feature a trade show with more than 20 booths demonstrating building materials, kitchen utensils, health screening, make-up and a few arts and crafts.

"This is the first year for the conference to be held in Cape Girardeau County," said Dorothy Hahs, a member of the planning committee.

The conference, which was held in Springfield last year and attracted more than 250 people, is designed for women who have any interest in farming, whether it be farming, a farm wife or any agriculture related career.

Registration forms are available at the Cape Girardeau County Soil and Water Conservation office in Jackson. Additional information is available by calling 243-1467, extension 3.

This year's conference will include a number of topics, including stress management, women's health, financial management and self-defense.

State Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, will be keynote speaker during a banquet the first day of the event. A field trip is scheduled to the Southeast Missouri District Fair, which starts the day before the conference.

Few women actually run farms. In Missouri, a federal farm census lists 7,665 women running farms, or just over 7 percent of the 105,000 farm operations in the state. In Illinois, the percentage is between 4 and 5 percent. A total of 3.625 women were listed as farm operators compared with 73,985 men in Illinois. The figures, however, mask the number of women who help make farms successful.