When looking out over the sea of men at the annual National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) last month, here and there were wives and other farm women. Who are the women of agriculture who were part of this year’s show in Louisville?

Jennifer Ellwell’s message was “Connecting Farmer to Food to Family.” Jennifer has a website at www.foodmommy.net that she was promoting at her exhibit space.

“I am trying to get women to get out and talk about farming with ‘Mom’ consumers, to see what we do and why we do it. There should be no fear of what we produce on our farms. We focus on supporting farmers,” she said.

On her website, Jennifer shares: “Struggle with what to feed your family? I used to. But now I’m sharing my guilt-free approach with other moms. There is a balance between growing all of your own food and making regular trips to your favorite fast food restaurant.

“I share how I make good choices most of the time, get my kids to eat what I want them to eat, give my opinion on the current food hype and introduce you to our nation’s most awesome farmers.”

Ladies sharing their thoughts about farming seemed to be a trend at the 2012 NFMS. Amy Wathen and Christy Paulin have created Jill’s Junction, a website sponsored by Fastline Publications, at www.jillsjunction.com

“We created this website for women.  There are recipes, travel tips, et cetera,” said Christy, who added, of the website, “We can learn from each other … We just went live last week, so this is really the debut.”

“We welcome guest stories. If you have a story you can send it to us,” Amy added.

Another entrepreneurial woman at this year’s show was Sheyna Laurich.  She was selling jewelry under the name Hardware for Her. Jewelry made from hardware is the theme and Sheyna provides some creative items.

Sheyna was set up with her brother and sister-in-law, who were selling drill bits. Wanting to provide something for the women, Sheyna created jewelry using items such as beads mixed with ball bearings, chains and little gears.

Many farm women also simply attended the NFMS. Jane Elliott came for the first time to this year’s show, curious about what she might see. Besides owning farmland, she works with her husband at their family business, Elliott Gears. “I especially like the interesting exhibits and hearing about the machinery,” Jane, who is also an antique tractor enthusiast, shared.

The Elliotts’ daughter, Beth, also came to the show for the first time this year. As the owner of her own information technology business, Beth was fascinated by the computer technology available with farming equipment.

Amanda Storment, vice president PR/Media, wrote, “Despite a continually-challenging agriculture and economic climate, the 47th National Farm Machinery Show welcomed 305,512 visitors through the gates in four days, the third highest total in event history, shattering last year’s number of 302,424.”

The show offered more than 850 exhibitors from the United States and around the world. Exhibitors filled 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space at the Kentucky Exposition Center Feb. 15-18. The 2013 NFMS is set for Feb. 13-16, again, in Louisville.

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.