Five women who wanted to learn more about the marketing and financial skills that they could use on their family farms formed the Hillary Clinton Club in 1994. They had tried attending their husbands’ marketing club but found it hard to learn anything when they didn’t know the basics. So they organized their own classes. They charged no fee, invited anyone who wanted to come, and aimed at helping rural women learn what they needed to become more involved in the important decisions made on their farms. During the next two years they held ten workshops covering many aspects of crop and livestock marketing.
The group’s leader, Twila Weyers, moved with her husband from Lincoln to Hay Springs, Nebraska in 1994 where they joined in working her husband’s family farm. She soon became a teacher’s aid at the local rural school and found that the rural women she met with all had similar problems. These problems came with being isolated, raising a family, and struggling to keep afloat financially, all while working long hours on the farm. Weyers thought something could be done to help herself and her neighbors.
The Nebraska Ag IMPACT project provided startup funds for the group and assisted it in getting organized. The name was inspired by the marketing ability of the First lady who made a lot of money on cattle futures. She did it, according to group member Linda Federson, " without stepping in any manure." The Hay Springs women figured that since they work with cattle every day, they ought to be able to make a little money the same way.
According to member Kim Marcy, "working hard just isn’t enough to survive on a farm anymore." Her husband now regularly uses hedges and options and she wanted to be part of the decision making. The Hillary Clinton Club has helped her do that. Working with the group also gives the women a chance to communicate with each other. They brainstorm and exchange ideas, which helps them break the isolation they face while raising small children on the farm.
The group has addressed other interests besides commodity marketing. They have toured farms raising exotic livestock and looked into raising herbal tea ingredients. In the fall of 1997, they held an Introduction to the Internet class at Chadron State College where 15 people participated. They also hosted on a class on estate and tax planning. Thirty-five people from around the region attended the three-hour course.
Although far from the politics of Washington D.C., these women, like their namesake First lady, are not just staying at home and baking cookies. They are out to make a difference in their farms and communities.
Contact: Twila Weyers, Hay Springs, 308-232-4491