In the 1980s, Dr. Jean Eells was determined to find a way to make a living in rural Iowa as a woman interested in conservation. She became the first woman to serve as the Hamilton County Conservation Board Naturalist.

Forward to August 2021 and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) named Eells the Iowa Conservation Woman of the Year thanks to nominations from the Women, Food, and Agriculture Network (WFAN) and Iowa State University. The award annually recognizes a woman who has made significant contributions to conservation and the improvement of Iowa’s natural resources conservation through achievements on her own land, her career, or voluntary efforts.

“Jean has collaborated with the Women, Food & Agriculture Network for over 12 years, a role that has been crucial in advancing conservation outreach and implementation to women, empowering them to use their voices and their power in seeing the changes they want on their land,” said Wren Almitra with WFAN. “She has been a Soil and Water District Commissioner for over 20 years and served on numerous committees related to soil health, pollinators, and more. She is an instructor for NRCS on how to do effective conservation outreach to women and has trained hundreds of NRCS and partner employees.

“That is just the tip of the iceberg regarding Jean’s work and impact. She pushes the needle on conservation and outreach, from her farm to statewide and national scales, and our land is all the better for it.”

A Path of Twists and Turns

Not only is Eells an educator, but she is also a landowner. She grew up on a family farm where her parents didn’t treat her and her sisters differently because of their gender. They encouraged her to work hard and to continue her education. Her brother was incredibly influential in her decision to become involved with conservation. While he was working on his degree in wildlife conservation, he was able to bring Eells to a prairie burn, and her passion ignited.

Today, Eells and her family collaborate on conservation practices on their land. They started changing farming practices in 2015 and asked their tenant to plant oats as a cover crop and eliminate fall tillage. They currently have two small Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) plots, plant cover crops, and practice no-till.

Over the years, Eells has been an advocate and educator for conservation outreach for landowners, specifically women. However, owning her own successful business and earning a Ph.D. was never a part of her plan. There were not many opportunities for women with degrees when she began her career in conservation, so she paved her own way.

One important question arose in 2002, where are all the women landowners, and why are they getting left out? This question became an inspiration for her to earn her Ph.D. To her, one can make an impact and inspire change by solving an interesting problem.

“When I graduated, I was delighted that the Women, Food and Agriculture Network was in a good position to expand, experiment and take a risk,” said Eells. “So, we launched some more aggressive programing to help women landowners get more involved in conservation.”
Others have told her she started a movement by sharing what women landowners are capable of. She takes any opportunity she can to share her knowledge and experiences with other women. Her hope is women will be given the confidence and be inspired to make changes to their lands and start asking questions.

She continues to serve as a Hamilton Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Commissioner. She has served continuously since 1998.  Eells also assists with grant writing and conference presentations for WFAN. She represents WFAN in Iowa on the NRCS State Technical Committee and the Iowa Monarch Consortium led by Iowa State University. Her future projects involve launching virtual workshops for women who own land but live out of state to learn where to start and build a cohort group. She also wants to continue helping female ambassadors share their stories.

About Women Landowner Days Program

Dr. Jean Eells has influenced and empowered many Iowans and farmers in surrounding states to take a chance on conservation. She currently owns and operates E Resources Group, LLC, an education and environmental initiatives consulting company. Recently, Eells began the Women Landowner Days program in partnership with WFAN.

Eells completely overhauled the program’s original in-person approach to an online format because of the pandemic. Through her leadership, women are now expanding and sharing their knowledge and relationships with those outside the program.

The multi-session series supports women landowners in Iowa by providing education on profitable farming methods that can help improve water quality and soil health. The series was so successful that all participants took concrete action on their land and continued building their relationships.  
“We have had a lot of success in measuring what women have done. We find that 70 percent of women who attend a one-day meeting about conservation will take an action to improve conservation on their land,” said Eells. “They then have the courage to bring up the conversation to their family members, farmers, and neighbors about the need for change.” 

Eells says women really do make change when they are confident. “Women know what to do when they have a problem that needs to be solved, and most importantly, when they see women who look like themselves,” she said. “That representation is important because then they say, ‘Oh, if they can do that, I can do that.’”