Lonnie Coons found she could still
learn more about farming

By Caroline Downs

Lonnie Coons has been farming with her husband Bill for more than 40 years, on an operation established by the Coons family in 1906. Last winter, however, she gave up some of her evenings to attend Annie’s Project, a new course for farm women coordinated by the North Dakota State University Extension Service.

Annie’s Project uses education to empower women to be better business partners. The program is named for a woman who lived in northern Illinois and fulfilled her goal of marrying a farmer and learning to be an involved partner. Her daughter developed Annie’s Project based on the skills and knowledge instilled by her mother, and with the assistance of her colleagues at the University of Illinois Extension.

Several Midwestern states now offer Annie’s Project, which was launched for North Dakota women in January 2006. Coons enrolled in the sessions scheduled for Minot. Almost a year later, she recalled ways in which the program benefited her.

"I learned more terminology, related to what I’m doing," she said. "And we had a speaker on how grain is graded and shipped, which I didn’t know."

The Coons farm is a registered and certified seed farm. "It’s mostly grains," Lonnie Coons said. "We don’t sell any oilseed other than flax."

She and her husband farm with their son Troy, and the three have separated their duties over the years. Troy does the marketing and managing, as well as the field work, and Bill, a skilled mechanic, oversees the maintenance. "I manage the grain," Coons said. "I don’t do much field work now, although I did some disking last fall and I thought, ‘It’s been thirty years since I drove a tractor!’"

She also keeps books for the operation, including billing, payments and recordkeeping. She has handled that responsibility for decades, but she made some changes after taking Annie’s Project.

"I’m more prompt with my bookkeeping now," she said. "I’m staying more current because I know what the regulations are and what the consequences could be. It’s sure different than it was 40 years ago. You don’t keep your receipts in a shoebox anymore!"

One aspect of Annie’s Project Coons found especially valuable was the opportunity to talk about her farming experiences with other women. She came away from the class grateful for the support of the local financial institution where she and her family do business after hearing the difficulties some women had with their choice of banks.

She was also happy with the way work is divided on the Coons farm. "Some women just hear their husband, brother or family talking about [the farming business]," she said. "They don’t know about it themselves."

Even though she has more than 40 years of farming behind her, Coons enjoyed Annie’s Project. "I think it’s for any woman, whether she does the books or drives truck from one field to the other," she said. "You learn a lot from being there with so many different women from so many situations."

Coons described the traditional way of farming in this area as a process of growing oats, barley and wheat, then taking it to town and selling it. "You didn’t have to worry about things like inspections and crop insurance, like you do now," she said.

She continued, "I would recommend if you’re going to be part of a family farm, go to Annie’s Project. Go to understand you’re not alone and that a lot of farm women, young and old, have to deal with the big changes happening in farming."

Bobbi Nelson wanted to learn marketing
Bobbi Nelson, Kenmare, also enrolled in Annie’s Project last winter. "I wanted to learn more about the marketing part of it," she said.

She and her husband Tom farm about 2,200 acres of grains, along with operating Tom’s trucking business. The couple’s son, a high school freshman, helps consistently, and their daughter, a sixth grader, will be joining the family in the field, especially at harvest time.

The Nelsons have been farming for more than 15 years, but Bobbi cut back on her direct involvement after she started working a fulltime job in Kenmare. "I used to do anything out there," she said. "Drive truck, combine, whatever."

Despite her career away from the farm, she maintains her interest. Annie’s Project provided information and resources, including lists of ag-related websites, that helped her. "I understand better when my husband talks about it now," she said. "I know more about marketing and about the insurance side."

Like Coons, Nelson recommended the class to other farm women. "I think it’s a pretty good class for women who are just getting into farming or marrying a farmer," she said, "to understand all the ins and outs, and to know what to expect."

She added, "You’ll find out other people are going through the same things you are. Some days, there are the frustrations. Other days, you wouldn’t trade [farming] for the world!"

Jodi Bock keeps the farm’s books
Jodi Bock has a mailing address listed as Berthold and a phone exchange from Carpio. The couple’s farm, however, is straight west of Minot Air Force Base, and she jokes about truly living in the middle of nowhere.

However, she and her husband Murray have been running a small grains farm, with sunflowers, since 1980. The couple also raises between 50 and 60 Simmental cow-calf pairs each year and plants a little corn primarily used as feed.

Bock keeps the farm’s books on computer and tends to the cattle. She also assists with the field work. "I prefer driving truck over combining," she said, laughing as she added that at least she actually went someplace with the grain truck.

Bock registered for Annie’s Project last January at the request of her daughter-in-law, a former "town girl" from Berthold who wanted someone to take the classes with her. "There’s always room for learning," Bock said.

The course held her interest. The materials on crop insurance and the FSA programs were new to her. "Murray’s always done that on his own," she said.

She also absorbed the discussions about marketing. "I really enjoy that," she said. "This year, we did more pre-harvest marketing of grain, more contracting that we had before."

Then she laughed again as she described the results of her efforts. The Bocks were satisfied with their sales, but they probably would have done better selling after harvest. "This year of all years, grain prices are higher," she said. "But if we knew the future, we’d all be rich!"

Like Nelson and Coons, she suggested other farm women consider Annie’s Project. "My daughter-in-law said she learned a lot," she said. "If you haven’t played a big role in farming, the class is definitely informative that way."

Robin James and Allie Sagness registered
Robin James, Kenmare, and Allie Sagness, Bowbells, have already registered for the 2007 session of Annie’s Project and are anticipating the benefits.

"I saw [an article] about it in the local paper," Sagness said, adding she set the information aside at the time because of harvest.

Sagness has been farming south of Bowbells with her husband Ron since 1983. The couple has four children, including their son who is a senior at Kenmare High School and farms with his parents. "My father-in-law helps out when he can, too," said Sagness.

The Sagnesses plant grains, sunflowers and peas, and raise cattle. Ron Sagness also operates a welding shop.

Allie Sagness returned to the article she’d seen about Annie’s Project after harvest and decided to enroll. "I just think there are things I don’t know and I should know," she said. "Things I’ve been ignoring for a long time."

The list of topics interested her, particularly bookkeeping. "It looks like a well-rounded program," she said. "I think it’ll be interesting!"

James and her husband Ben grow small grains on their operation. "We’ve been farming since we got married, and we’re going on thirty years," she said.

She hopes Annie’s Project will provide general knowledge she can use to be more active in the day-to-day operation of their farm. "Ben would like me to know more about marketing," she said. "He saw [the class announcement] and said, ‘You’d better do this.’"

James is also looking forward to learning more about the software available for recordkeeping. "I do most of the farm books and everything is on paper at this time," she said. "I can see where the computer can compile information faster than you can do it by yourself. I want to learn how and do it the most efficient way."

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Next Annie's Project session
begins January 22
The next session of Annie’s Project will begin the week of January 22, 2007, and continue for six weeks at 15 different locations across the state, including Bowbells and Minot.

The class in Minot will be offered on Tuesdays, beginning January 23rd, with participants choosing between afternoon sessions held from 11 am to 2:15 pm and evening sessions from 5 to 8:15 pm. The Bowbells class will be held only during the evenings from 5 to 8:15 pm. A meal will be served before all sessions.

Several topics will be covered in the 2007 course, including record keeping and financial analysis, risk management through insurances for business and family, marketing crops and livestock, and farm business planning. The information will be presented by extension specialists, extension agents and local expertise in each community.

The sessions themselves will combine lecture, discussion, individual and small group activities, and computer training.

The cost for all six sessions is $100 which includes materials, software and books for the course. Interested farm and ranch women across North Dakota, ages 18 and older, can register by downloading the form at www.ag.ndsu.edu/anniesproject and sending the completed form and $100 fee to Grand Forks County Extension Office, 151 South 4th Street S302, Grand Forks, ND 58201. The deadline for registration is January 5, 2007.

Women who plan to enroll at the Bowbells or Minot locations are also welcome to call NDSU Extension Agents Peggy Anderson or Dan Folske at the Burke County Extension Service, 377-2927, or Lori Scharmer, Emily Tescher-Johnston or Mike Rose at the Ward County Extension Service, 857-6444.

Annie’s Project is sponsored in North Dakota by the NDSU Extension Service, Farm Credit Services of ND, Risk Management Agency, North Dakota Grain Growers, and Farm and Ranch Guide.