Countrywomen in the forchheim district: valuing agriculture and local foodstuffs

In 1945, the bavarian farmers’ association (BBV) was founded, and in 1948, the BBV established the organization of rural women. A lot has changed since then, and that was the focus of a festive evening celebrating the 70th anniversary of the forchheim district group in the romantic hall of thurn castle.

The organization began at the regional level, as district farmer rosi kraus reported in her review, with employees of the agricultural office, which was looking for women farmers and therefore convened a meeting in hetzles. Hildegard wolfel from grobenbuch was installed there as a district farmer. 40 to 50 honorary local farmers were found in a short time.

At the top for 17 years

For the then district of ebermannstadt, kraus mentioned by name the district builders babette martin and verena severin. Since the district reform, there have been only three women farmers in the new district of forchheim: hildegard wolfel, gunda pingold from lilling and, for the past 17 years, rosi kraus from uhleinshof. She is currently supported by 94 local builders.

Kraus considers the most important task of the association to be the promotion of the value of agriculture and local foods. Besides, as since the beginnings, the education and further training offer stands.

Offers for everyone

It is a long list that she presented to her fellow campaigners for the winter half-year, with a range of topics that goes far beyond the area of agricultural home economics. Kraus pointed out that the courses and lectures are not only aimed at members, but are open to everyone. This applies in particular to the area of preventive health care, which has had a high priority in various forms from the very beginning, just think of the spa stays and recreational opportunities initiated in 1952 especially for rural women.

Senior citizens’ representative

Gerda polster, senior citizens’ representative, presented fabric printing with models as a special activity. Tanja engelhard reported on the newly founded young women farmers’ regulars’ table with participants between 20 and 40 years of age. His sign is a fresh-green neckerchief. Polster immediately asked: "how long can you wear this?? Does one then automatically come to the seniors?"

"In the past, the farmer’s wife was responsible for the house, the garden, the kitchen, the church and the cows", anneliese goller, country farmer, summed up in her keynote speech. A change already began a few decades ago. More and more women with completely different vocational training marry farmers. It is no longer the case that a farmer’s wife goes into the barn, he said. She herself had learned to be a wholesale merchant (the official designation at the time), but after her marriage she went through training to become a master of rural home economics. Today, the "diversity of life’s designs" is the most important even broader. And thus also the task of the countrywomen’s association.

Help for africa

"Livable life in the countryside is the basic idea, which also includes the flow of information for school children about food production, open farm gate days and the like. Recently, the countrywomen have taken their basic idea as far as africa. In western kenya, bavarian women farmers are committed to helping the local countrywomen, who bear the burden of food production even more than in europe.

District administrator hermann ulm (CSU) expressed his appreciation to the countrywomen for their decades of work. You and the "landmen – he said – are the guarantors of the countryside, of value creation and of soil stability. Heroldsbach mayor edgar buttner (SPD) assured the festive congregation that they would continue to follow the countrywomen’s slogan "committed, modern, active" convincingly represented.

Gregor scheller, representing the banks, pointed out that there is often a division of tasks in a farm, with the women often being responsible for the finances. Hermann greif, chairman of the farmers’ association in upper franconia, joked about the frequent joint appearances with the district farmer’s wife and attested to the good cooperation of all the guests. BBV managing director werner nutzel used the general meeting to point out important dates, especially deadlines for claims, and the homepage of the district association.