Annual Kentucky Women in Agriculture Conference held in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Women have worked in Kentucky’s agriculture industry for decades.

“It’s a different world since my mother entered in the industry in the 80’s,” said Conference Chair Natalie Gupton.

Women have gone from serving in more of a background role, to running and owning their own farming operations.

“It’s also much more than that. We have a lot of professional women that are in agri-businesses, agri-tourism, we have people who are agriculture loan officers, attorneys. Just the whole gambit,” said President Jessica Wilkerson.

The past and current presidents of Kentucky Women in Ag, Natalie Gupton and Jessica Wilkerson, hope the 25th anniversary celebration encourages women currently in the industry. While also inspiring a new, younger generation of women to not only follow in their footsteps, but to walk even further than those who came before.

“It’s just really cool to see women at the forefront of farming and agriculture,” Gupton said.

Like Phyllis Smith, the owner of Greens Fork Farm and most recently, her business ‘Essentially Hemp’.

“Me being here with other ladies, I’ve been able to help them understand what they can possibly do. If we didn’t network like this, we wouldn’t know these things. We might not be inspired to put that effort out there. If they see me being successful, they then think, you know why can’t I, too.”

In this room sit students in Future Farmers of America and women with decades of experience, all educating and empowering each other.

KWIA also offer scholarships to upperclassman looking to pursue a career in agriculture.