Women In Ag Banquet Set For April 2
The twelfth annual Mountrail County Women in Agriculture banquet is set for Wednesday, Apr. 2 at the Mountrail County South Complex in Stanley. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. The night starts with a social and time to shop at the various boutiques, as well as dinner at 6:00 p.m. and a guest speaker at 7:00 p.m. Music will be provided by Ty Taylor, Jerilyn Wiseman and Nicole Biwer this year.
This year’s guest speaker is Brandi Buzzard, with her topic “Never Sell Your Saddle”. Brandi is a top-rated speaker who describes herself as a Kansas cowgirl, mama, rancher, runner and sports fanatic. She says, “All my life I’ve known that production agriculture is where I wanted to be – when I was little, I loved roping, helping my dad and grandpa at the feedlots they worked on/managed and working with my cattle and hogs before the fair. Now I’m excited to be pursuing that dream with The Ninja as well as rodeoing and riding horses as much as humanly possible. Life is not always pretty or clean and you’ll find that the stories I share won’t always be comfortable, ideal or pretty. Such is life on a ranch – I hope you will ask questions if you have them and please know that my “door” is always open for conversation!”
Brandi has been writing and blogging about agriculture issues, while connecting with grocery shoppers, since 2009. She launched her blog, Buzzard’s Beat, and has written hundreds of posts defending agriculture and connecting with grocery shoppers across the world.
In 2019 her drive for farmers and ranchers to be heard was again on full display when a letter she wrote to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went viral for its factual, non-inflammatory and respectful remarks on behalf of the cattle producers. This letter and the reactions gave her ample opportunity to deflate common anti-ag talking points and engage with grocery shoppers across all demographics.
For more than a decade, she has been writing and speaking about the rural lifestyle and helping others share their story of agriculture. It’s important for rural America to have a voice on critical issues that affect their everyday lives and she says, “it’s my honor to speak with audiences about how we can all do our part to better our communities”.
Her newest topic and the focus of her presentation at Women in Ag is Never Sell Your Saddle. Society tells mothers to be everything. Give our attention to our kids full time, work to contribute to the household, maintain a home, be fit, get involved in the community and so much more. Often times, too often, women give up their hobbies, dreams and passions for their children. The expectation that we have to immerse ourselves in motherhood and stop taking up space as our own individual women is palpable and weighs heavy. It’s time for that to stop. And it’s time for us to shake off the “mom guilt” that comes with wanting our own time and hobbies and space to chase our dreams. Hear how we can lift each other up, follow our passions and the importance of never selling your saddle.
For more information or to sign up for the event, please contact Jana at the Mountrail County Ag Agency at 628-2835. The event is sponsored by the Mountrail County Ag Improvement Association, Mountrail County Ag Agency, and the Mountrail Soil Conservation District.