USDA-Iowa NRCS News Release | Contact: Jennifer Ness or Katherine Timmerman: 319-668-2010

USDA recently recognized the Iowa County Women, Land and Legacy (WLL) local team for its passion for education, empowerment and outreach to women by presenting the group the USDA Joint EEO/CR Committee 2015 Group Award.  The award recognizes USDA employees for their efforts to provide outreach and service to underserved customers and promote civil rights.

Iowa County WLL team representatives accept the 2015 Group Civil Rights award from the joint USDA Civil Rights Committee. From left to right: NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Management and Strategy Jon Hubbert, NRCS District Conservationist Katherine Timmerman, IDALS State Secretary Leslie Maxwell and NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations Kevin McCall.

The current and former Williamsburg USDA Service Center employees honored by this award include Farm Service Agency employees Jennifer Ness and Cindy Landuyt; Natural Resources Conservation Service employees Steve Johnston (retired), Katherine Timmerman, Tanya Meyer-Dideriksen and Jody Peek; and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship employee Leslie Maxwell.

The Iowa County WLL team held its first meeting in 2011. Since then its membership has grown to more than 150 local farmers and landowners. The group hosts approximately four annual learning sessions, with an average attendance of 50 people per meeting.

Other accomplishments recognized by the award include:

• Hosting an annual Women Landowner’s Conference, serving a five-county area
• Self-publishing the first WLL cookbook to become more financially self-sustaining
• Hosting an anual “local products” event featuring women owned or co-owned Iowa County-based small rural businesses with ties to agriculture.

Team members Katherine Timmerman and Leslie Maxwell received the award at the 2015 USDA Diversity Day held Feb. 26 in Des Moines. For more information about WLL please go http://www.womanlandandlegacy.org.

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