AgriCULTURE 2025 | WIRED Up
The ideal time to learn a best practice is never in the heat of the moment – and in ranching, there can be a lot of hot moments.
While many women work side by side with men in production agriculture performing the same skills, there are many who – either due to time, tradition or opportunity – don’t have the chance to correctly and without pressure learn skills like how to operate a chute headgate, back up a trailer, or operate an EID system.
That gap was what inspired the American National CattleWomen to create a program specifically for women to teach hands-on production skills in a non-rushed environment with other women. WIRED, or Women in Ranching, Education and Development, events are one-to-two-day workshops that offer beef industry skills training.
“Not everyone grew up like us, being part of the work and knowing how to do things,” said Jennie Hodgen, co-chair of the American National CattleWomen WIRED programs, who was raised on a cattle ranch in Nara Visa, New Mexico, and today runs a farm and cattle operation in Roachdale, Indiana, with her husband, Paul Hodgen, and their four children.
Even those who did grow up in a ranch family may not have been assigned the “big jobs,” except in emergencies.
“When we have women or even new producers coming into the system, they may want to be involved in the work but maybe they don’t do a quality job the first time, become fearful and don’t practice,” she said. “When you give them the opportunity to do things like run the head catch or give shots and explain the significance of doing it right, it brings it all together.”
WIRED events are hosted by women and for women but set no limitations on attendees. Anyone with a passion for the beef industry is welcome to register. Most are designed with an “edu-vacation” flavor at scenic locations with entertainment or tourism options added. Attendance is usually capped between 60-80 people, due to the nature of hands-on activities.
ANCW launched the program in 2018 with two events, planning to ramp up by 2020. “But we all know how that year went,” says Hodgen. Post-covid, they have done four programs a year. The locations depend on where interested CattleWomen groups volunteer, with an objective to host events in different regions and focus on education needs in that area.
“As the series is getting more mature, people are starting to see what they do differently in other areas. There are a lot of discussions between attendees how ‘We never even thought about that,’ or ‘What can I take and adapt to our place?'” said Hodgen.
Past WIRED events have included artificial insemination and embryo transfer demonstrations, chute-side manners, injections, implants and identification, calving simulators, grazing management, and tractor safety. Others have a focus on cattle handling, meat cutting systems, or beef quality audit practices. Additional non-production sessions have included mental health, financial planning, media advocacy and legislative lobbying skills. Hodgen said if they know there is an industry expert in the area, they always try to incorporate that expertise into the event as well.
More than anything, WIRED events are a place to ask all the questions you think “are stupid,” said Hodgen, and learn more about the “why,” and not just because that’s the way it’s always been done.
Part of the fun of the events is peer learning. “As we’re sitting around practicing implanting or taking DNA samples, a lot of women have a little trick they do or something to share. Even with as many as we’ve done now, I also come away learning something new every time,” said Hodgen. “We want people to leave feeling confident in the skills they learn but also have a network of 50 other ladies to connect with and ask questions.”
Gwen Geis is a fourth-generation cattle and sheep rancher from Gillette, Wyoming. She and her husband and her husband’s brother and wife own Geis Brothers LLC, and Geis leases a ranch and runs cattle as her own enterprise as well. She is also a past state and national CattleWomen president and remains active on all levels.
Geis helped implement the WIRED program and has participated in multiple events from Montana to Texas to Ohio. “They really create an environment where women feel free to ask questions in a safe environment,” she said. She notes a lot of women work outside with the animals on a regular basis but they’re working at the back, not running the chute. “This is a good chance for us to have hands-on practice on all aspects of ranch work.”
In a culture where roles often stay the same, there are some paradigms to overcome.
“More and more we are starting to see older women take over the ranches when their husbands pass away – and some have never worked the cattle, made those decisions, done the books, or ran the chute,” she said. “Our dream when we started this program was to not only give younger women an opportunity to learn, but to offer older women an opportunity to realize what they can do and have a group of others in similar situations they can reach out to.”
She adds the WIRED events showcase many career opportunities for young women outside of owning a ranch, and create a network of connection across the industry. Geis is helping plan a WIRED event in Laramie, Wyoming, on Aug. 14 of this year, where they will focus on ranch diversification and include trainings on both cattle and sheep.
ANCW traces its roots back to 1952, when cattlewomen organized to unite their individual messages for a strong national voice, impacting consumers, politicians and other beef producers across the United States since. Today the organization says its members consist of not just ranch women, but any women who support the cattle industry through education and promotion.
Upcoming WIRED events include Coalville, Utah, May 7; Bentonville, Arkansas, June 19; Laramie, Wyoming, August 14; Canyon, Texas, September 11; and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, April 24, 2026. Registration for these events is available through ANCW.org/wired. Registration cost is usually under $100. Any CattleWomen group who are interested in hosting a WIRED program can contact the national office to discuss options and work through an online planning kit. National sponsorships and financial aid may be available to groups interested in hosting a WIRED event.
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Correct vaccine handling and administration are common skill trainings at WIRED events.
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WIRED participants learning correct vaccine handling techninques.
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Women were hosted by Steve and Amy Williams, owners of the Midland Bull Test in Columbus, Montana, for several days of education in June of 2024.
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The WIRED event in Wooster, Ohio, in April of 2024 gathered women from across the nation for hands-on session in cattle production.
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Women practice taking DNA samples from real, albeit not living, cattle ears at a WIRED event.
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Women and girls of all ages attend WIRED events, creating a multi-generational network of women in the beef industry.
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Large equipment operation is a common workshop at many WIRED events, shown here in Alabama.
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Women have an opportunity to learn and practice operating hydraulic chutes at most WIRED events.
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A WIRED event in Alabama included tours of a bull collection facility.
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Attendees of a WIRED workshop learn grazing management and sample forage to determine biomass and stocking rate at a WIRED event in California.
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Women have an opportunity to learn and practice operating hydraulic chutes at most WIRED events.
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