Nebraska Ag Connection - Fulton Appointed Extension Assistant for Women in Ag Post

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Fulton Appointed Extension Assistant for Women in Ag Post
Nebraska Ag Connection - 12/03/2020

Scottsbluff native Brittany Fulton has been appointed as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension assistant for Nebraska Women in Agriculture (WIA). She will be responsible for teaching, training, managing educational activities and events, and other duties related to the program.

Her appointment was announced by WIA program director Jessica Groskopf, an Extension educator based at the Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff, where Fulton will also be based.

Fulton comes to UNL after a seven-year stint at the Denver-based National Cattlemen's Beef Association, where she served as director of stakeholder communications (2018-20), associate director of organizational communications (2016-18), and associate director of web content (2013-15). She graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2012 with a bachelor of science degree in agriculture communications. At UW, she was a public relations and marketing intern for Wyoming Stock Growers, the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the UW Dean's Office.

Nebraska WIA is designed to assist women in their agricultural business, according to the program's website at https://wia.unl.edu. "The (UNL) Department of Agricultural Economics recognizes the vital role that women play in the agricultural industry and is committed to bringing Nebraska ag women relevant management education," the website says, focused on both business and family.

Nebraska WIA programs include the annual farm and ranch management conference targeted toward women, attended by about 275 women each year. From that conference, founded in the 1980s, has come a variety of educational programs and workshops. In Nebraska WIA also offers Annie's Project educational programs, designed to strengthen women's roles in modern farm enterprises.

Groskopf noted that women are a significant and growing percentage of the population employed by, managing, and owning farms and ranches in Nebraska. Nebraska's 24,730 female producers (counted by the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture) represented 32 percent of all producers in the state. Their numbers have increased by 22 percent since the 2012 USDA Census. Seventy-two percent of female producers are involved in the day-to-day decision making of Nebraska's farms and ranches.

Fulton will teach educational programming, train Extension professionals in Annie's Project facilitation techniques, identify emerging issues focusing on underserved audiences, manage educational activities and events, and pursue grants and other resources.

Her husband, Jesse, was recently appointed the state coordinator for the Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program, and he also is based in Scottsbluff.

She said, "I am excited to be back in my hometown and working with such a great program. Agriculture has always been a passion for me and I want to share that passion with other women throughout the state. Growing up on the farm and my experience at NCBA has given me the opportunity to expand my knowledge in livestock, crops, ag policy and telling the agriculture story. I hope to be able to share that knowledge and continue to learn in this new role."

The Fultons are both involved in the family farm east of Scottsbluff, where Brittany is the fourth generation on the land. In the past, the farming operation included sheep, cattle and row crops. Currently it is mostly comprised of sheep and working to expand. Growing up, she was heavily involved with 4-H and FFA and showed livestock at the fair.

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