DeKalb/Daviess Women In Ag event set for Sept. 26

Make plans to attend the Fifth Annual Women in Ag Event on Thursday, Sept. 26 hosted by the DeKalb and Daviess County Farm Service Agency (FSA) and MU Extension.
The event “Beautifully Rooted” will be held at the June Conley Building in Maysville and doors will open at 4 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to visit local vendors and businesses as well as informative exhibits.
The evening will have an educational speaker, Craig Hayes, back for a second time by popular demand at 5:30 p.m. Hayes is the manager and landscape designer at Earl May Nursery & Seed Company in St. Joseph.
Craig began his career with Earl May in 1992 as a part-time employee in St. Joseph. In 1994, he moved to Olathe, KS, and became the assistant manager and designer.
In the fall of 1995, Craig moved back to St. Joseph and became the full-time designer for the St. Joseph store. In 2000, he was promoted to store manager as well as continuing to be the store’s landscape designer. In 2011, he began providing landscape training to the entire company. Craig celebrated his 25th year at Earl May this spring.
The night will continue with a presentation by Marji Guyler-Alaniz, president and founder of FarmHer. Marji is a lifetime Iowan and lover of photography. That love, combined with graphic design, journalism and photography degrees from Grand View University, an MBA from Drake University and an 11-year career in corporate agriculture working for a crop insurance company, led her to launch FarmHer in the spring of 2013.
Through FarmHer, she is updating the image of agriculture by showing the female side of farming and ranching, creating community amongst women in agriculture and outreach to young women interested in agriculture.
In addition to the photography side of FarmHer, Marji has expanded the organization to include a weekly award-winning television show, airing on national cable network RFD-TV, a weekly SiriusXM radio show and podcast, annual events to inspire and empower women in agriculture and a line of merchandise aimed at women in agriculture.
Her work for FarmHer has been featured in an expanse of arenas ranging from public television and RFD-TV to USDA’s National Ag Day Celebration, Successful Farming and O the Oprah Magazine.
The 2019 event will once again feature local vendors including Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Private Land Conservationist Jeff Powelson and Nate Mechlin, Pollinator Plots and Wildflowers, Law Farms LLC, 31 Bags by Paula McCrea, Farmers Business Network, Norwex by Carol McCrea, Doc and Dolly Handbags, Once and Again (Farm House Décor), Fly Away Boutique and more.
A newly featured menu will be catered by “Sisters Act” from 4 to 7 p.m. To close out the evening, door prizes will be presented and attendees with have another chance to visit with vendors.
The cost of this year’s event is $10. Tickets must be purchased in advance and picked up at the DeKalb or Daviess County USDA Service Centers in Maysville or Gallatin. Tickets are available beginning July 1 and seating is limited. For more information or to be an event sponsor, call 816-449-2112 ext. 2, or visit the Facebook page at Women in Agriculture: DeKalb & Daviess Counties.
Women in Ag t-shirts will also be available to order, featuring this year’s theme. T-shirts will cost $15 and will be available for pick-up the night of the event, or you may place an order the night of the event. All t-shirt orders must be placed no later than Sept. 1 and can be ordered at the DeKalb or Daviess County Service Centers.
Persons with disabilities who require accommodations to attend or participate in this event should contact the Maysville FSA office at 816-449-2112 extension 2 or Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 by September 4, 2019.