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Ministry of Home Agriculture Economics and Food Branch Ontario K-nnlln Llnu Hon. Lornl C. Henderson Deputy Mlnlullr Mini-luv The Role of Women in the Modern Farm Business Mrs. Beverley Brown Carson, Home Economist and Roy Richards, Agricultural Representative, Haldimand-Norfolk Such was the title selected for a day-long seminar ianned and conducted in Haldimand-Norfolk in March 180. Early in the planning stages the Committee of tntario Ministry of Agriculture and Food Staff mem’ t-rs agreed that we did not want to aim our program as “ladies” day. We wanted to reach farm couples or min groups. However. the majority of the 125 persons ho did preâ€"register and attend were Women. in spite of ‘ careful wording of the title. It seems that general rm business meetings are attended by men. With the 1rd “women” appearing in the title the men lend to ty away. We would want to overcome this situation if imilar program is to be offered again. Ralph Winslade. the Farm Management Specialist the Niagara Area opened the seminar with an date of the size that farm businesses are developing in itario. Almost any coonomic unit today represents an estment of a quarter of a million dollars or more. »,h being the case. farm women need to be involved ‘1 know what the situation is on their own farm nations with respect to debt load. interest rates. iuymcnt capacity and the returns that can be expect- l'or family living. rtoger and Rena Storp. a husband and wife team at the Township of Delhi provided some valuable tlence in regard to good communication and a lingness to share. While being interviewed by Roy hards. Norfolk's Agricultural Representative. the -rps revealed that they are equal owners of a corpora- .l which in turn owns and operates a farm. Rena ignizes her role as homemaker and record keeper. still has a major influence on major farm manage- nt decisions. Roger is the crop producer. However. he i maintains a vigil on the monthly bank statements, )f particular interest to everyone was the fact that per and Rena each have their own personal savings 1 investments. The audience was impressed with their <incsslike yet loving and trusting attitude to each ter. \5 one person commented. “It is interesting to hear w other people started and the changes that have 'i'eloped in their farm business over the years." \iark Boot. an Agricultural Specialist with the Bank Nova Scotia. reviewed the services offered to farm usinesses by the chartered bani-ts. Audience participa- ‘ "n was created when Mark distributed cards and asked ‘7'th person to write the answers to the following types “i ‘erstions: i What production per cow. yield per acre. pigs per sow. etc. was achieved on your farm last year? â€" What was the gross income from your farming operation last year? ~ What is your present debt load including mortgage. intermediate and short term debt? While few of the audience had been able to answer all of the questions. Mark assured them that few farm men would have been able to provide the answers either. He indicated that the establishment of objectives is important. but first we must know where we are now so we can decide where we want to go. how long it will take us to get there. and what routes we are going to follow, Thus. the first step, taking inventory. is signifi- cantly important and a thorough knowledge of the farm business status is essential. Ralph Winslade reviewed some of the more recent changes in tax legislation which can enhance better farm business arrangements between spouses and for all family members. Our audience told us through the evaluation sheets that this topic could have been given more time than the half hour allotted this year. The afternoon program was handled by Doug Shep- pard of Sheppard. Sheppard, Macintosh & Harlmv. a law firm in Simcoe. As requested. he dealt with the topic Family Law Reform. Any laws are difficult to explain and \shile the digestion of the Family Law Reform Act was well done and thorough. many of the participants felt that this topic did not concern them as they were not anticipating a marriage breakdown. We hope they are right and are not going to be among the one in three who statistically may be faced with the implications in the Familfi Law Reform Act. Evaluation sheets completed by the participants indi- cute to us that the program was appreciated. Some of the participants may have expected a deeper learning experience. We have learned that it would be of benefit to include some of the potential participants in program planning. Our objectives were to create the setting where both spouses are equals in the farm management team and to previde sources of information that the participant might further explore. We would definitely try to attract couples or spouses next year.