Annie's Story
Many farm and ranch women across the Midwestern and Southern states are taking part in a program called Annie's Project designed just for them. Many women relate to the mission of Annie's Project, which is to empower farm and ranch women to be better business partners through gaining an understanding and knowledge of "business" of farming and ranching. The project is in honor of Annie Fleck, a women who lived in a small town in Illinois.
Meet Annie (Kohlhagen) Fleck
Annie was a woman who grew up in a small town in northern Illinois. Her goal was to marry a farmer and she did. Annie spent her lifetime learning how to be an involved business partner with her farm husband. Together they did great things, but it wasn't easy.
Challenges Annie faced included three generations living under one roof, low profitability, changing farm enterprises, and raising a family. Annie faced pressure from brother and sister-in-laws.
New regulations for selling processed food directly to the consumer forced many changes. Low profitability did not leave a lot of money to raise a family of four children even though the family worked hard.
Annie had to make many painful sacrifices that tested her conviction to be married to a farmer. There were days of tears, anger and sorrow. There were days of laughter, contentment and accomplishment.
Through it all, Annie kept records. She kept the farm business running, she kept the family running and she kept her marriage. Annie new deadlines, reporting requirements, tax issues, and did the little management jobs that kept big management jobs under control.
When big decisions had to be made, Annie was there with her records. To increase cash flow, Annie sent her husband to work off-farm while she milked cows and kept an egg route in Chicago. Eventually, her records guided them to discontinue an egg laying enterprise, a seasonal turkey enterprise and the dairy business.
Other farmers with larger equipment and more resources could better run the farm. So Annie became the landowner renting to other farmers. She paid expenses, and marketed corn and soybeans.
When others looked upon decisions Annie had helped to make, their opinion were not always kind, and that was very hard on Annie. She stuck with her decisions. She corrected mistakes and learned from experience. As an ex-school teacher, Annie had never-ending patience, and the ability to weather bad times.
Annie was married to a farmer for 50 years. She died in 1997, a wealthy woman, and doing things her way.
One of Annie's daughters, Ruth, married a man from the farm... and the story starts all over with one exception to the story. While Annie would never dream of working off-farm, Ruth works for the University of Illinois Extension as a Farm Business Management and Marketing educator.
Annie's Project was founded out of need, observed and lived, by daughter Ruth.
