For Immediate Release: January 9, 2015
Contact: Bridget Holcomb, 515-460-2477

Melody Bro joins the staff at Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN) to increase outreach to women in rural Iowa. She will coordinate the Women, Land and Legacy program, where local groups of women hold ongoing meetings covering topics from farm management to conservation.

“Iowa has something special going on with this program,” says Bridget Holcomb of WFAN. “These local groups empower women to make so many positive changes to their farms and the land they own. Melody not only has the skills we were looking for, but she also has eight years of experience working in her local Women, Land and Legacy team. We couldn’t have asked for anyone more suited to this role.”

Bro has seen the effects of the program in Tama County, where she lives.

“It amazes me how passionate women are about the land and how eager they are to learn more,” Bro says. “Having seen the benefits of the program on the local level, I’m hoping to help make this program available to every woman throughout the state of Iowa.”

This is the first time that the Women, Land and Legacy program will have dedicated staff. The program’s successes are due to the efforts of the Women, Land and Legacy State Team, which includes women from many state and federal agencies

“They have worked tirelessly to make this program what it is, and this will be a big step forward,” says Holcomb.

“Melody has done a tremendous job of facilitating Women, Land and Legacy efforts in Tama County for eight years and has assisted the local team in creating an extremely successful effort there,” says Tanya Meyer, who serves on the Area Natural Resources Conservation staff for southeast Iowa and is also a member of the WLL State Team.

Carol Smith, another member of the State Team, says, “We are looking forward to this opportunity to better support local teams, and involve more rural women in learning and action that they choose in their communities.”

Women, Land and Legacy, which held its first locally-based meeting in 2004, is currently active in 22 Iowa counties. For more information go to www.womenlandandlegacy.org.

This position is made possible through support from Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

##