Fleming’s decision: Learn or give up

Ten years ago Brenda Fleming could have given up, she could have sold the farm, many new widows have taken that path, but Fleming chose to take over.
“My husband and I had been farming since 1971 and I just knew I had to carry on,” said Fleming, 60.
Now she farms 1,100 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, and milo on the flat fields of Dorchester County, but it isn’t always easy.
“I have found, on occasion, a lot of the businesses would rather deal with a man,” she said. “That kind of puts me down a little bit, but I buck up. I say, ‘Look, I am running this farm now. My husband is not here.’
“My biggest challenges are the weather and grain marketing. I’ve had to learn a lot,” she said.
Now she has detailed records on every field: The soil sample analysis, the manure put down, the fertilizer, the type of seed, the yield, the lime, and more.
“I’ve learned that managing risk is the key to survival, that’s why I have crop insurance. I have 70-percent coverage across the board and the reason is simple, I don’t have irrigation,” she said.
That 70-percent coverage has also allowed Fleming to forward contract a larger part of her expected yield. She said she watches the Chicago Board of Trade on-line, trying to lock in a profit.
“I’m still learning. I fight with myself saying why didn’t I do this yesterday, but I have learned a lot from Annie’s Project.”
Now operating in 28 states, Annie’s Project provides risk management education for women.
Jenny Rhodes and Shannon Dill are the co-coordinators of Annie’s Project, both are University of Maryland Extension agents.
“Most of our participants are part of the farm management team, with their husbands, and they come away with some real risk management skills for that team to use, so Brenda is a little different.” said Rhodes, from Queen Anne’s County.
According to Dill, the program covers all five areas of risk management: Production, marketing, legal, human, and financial risks.
“We cover FSA programs, farm insurance policies, USDA programs, and computer skills,” said Dill, from Talbot County, adding, “We have computer labs where we show how crop budgets are worked up and of course we really emphasize crop insurance.”
Fleming said she is still looking to the future.
“My dream is to eventually turn this farm over to my sons, but first, I want to get it running really well.”