ICYMI: Women in Agribusiness in the News
By Michelle Pelletier Marshall, Women in Agribusiness Media (November 8, 2022)
For the more than 800 attendees at the 2022 Women in Agribusiness Summit, the event was jam-packed with rich content, endless networking opportunities, and special activities to inspire and entertain. More than 45 industry experts were speakers, rounding out the agenda that covered the latest topics in the sector. Our 50-plus sponsors, 8 event partners, and 25 exhibitors filled the rooms with conversation, questions, and knowledge-sharing.
Best of all, they all helped spread the word about the event so we can build an even broader network of women who lift each other up as they climb.
In case you missed these stories/interviews that inspired, see the list here, and see below for a peek at some of the onsite interviews by RFD-TV (listen to the complete interviews here).
See you in Nashville for Women in Agribusiness Summit 2023!
Kimberly Ratcliff, Owner, Farm to Freezer Meat Company
Kimberly Ratcliff is the manager of Caney Creek Ranch, a diversified ranching operation located in East Central Texas, started by her parents Wesley and Marie Ratcliff. Ratcliff joined the ranch in 2007 after leaving her job with Bloomberg, a New York City financial firm where she was a branding specialist.
Said Ratcliff in her video interview, “I needed to go back to my roots. I felt like there was a huge disconnect between the financial world and what agriculture stands for. I needed to say ‘where are my roots?’ and just do it. Just quit and do it because if you sit there and talk about it too long, you’re not going to do it.”
When explaining her excitement about participating in the event, where she was a speaker on the Female Producer Panel, she said it was about telling her story in the hopes of encouraging other women to know it can be done [being successful in agriculture]. “I’m really big on having women in agribusiness support each other and hold each other up and build that team around you.”
Jacqueline Fredericks, EVP, Division Executive at Wells Fargo
Jacqueline Fredericks has been a WIA Board Member and speaker, and Wells Fargo has supported the WIA Summit as a sponsor for several years. In her interview she answered a question from RFD-TV reporter Tammi Arender about how those in ag are dealing with the challenges in the sector, especially as far as making a profit.
Fredericks said, “It’s always been a difficult time to be in agriculture, and truly that’s what makes it so great as these are very hardworking people who make it happen in difficult times.” She went on to say, “Right now they’re dealing with real inflationary stress, especially with all the input costs associated with the crops they’re growing going up. The good news is the commodity prices are increasing as well.” Hear more of her interview here.
Krista Soda, Senior Consultant, Staff Administration at Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company
For Krista Soda, who’s company Nationwide has been a sponsor of the WIA Summit since day 1, the benefits and knowledge gained at the event are something she looks forward to every year.
“Shining a light on women in ag – as they are often not seen in the limelight, and let’s be honest I think we’re at 37 percent of women running ag businesses – whether it’s at the farm or in corporate, like myself, is a great benefit of this conference. We at Nationwide feel it’s very important to lift that up, to recognize and embrace it, so we have been a sponsor for nine years. We have 13 people here today [at WIAS22] and are very excited to be here. It’s a great networking opportunity, which is one of the best things about this conference. It’s really important to find mentors and your group…”
Listen here to the additional six interviews done by RFD-TV onsite. These include those with student scholars (Elise Lopez from Texas A&M), law expert Sari Long of Faegre Drinker, and Henneke Suntjens
