A Winneshiek County woman has received the Women Impacting Agriculture award for her contributions to Iowa agriculture.
Melissa O’Rourke and three other Iowa women were presented awards Nov. 30 at the seventh annual Iowa Women in Ag Leadership Conference organized by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.The Women Impacting Agriculture recognition honors Iowans who are creating a more sustainable Iowa by improving economic resiliency and stability; conserving natural resources; and being influential agricultural leaders, family members and community volunteers.Past honoree Marilee Jones and extension communications specialist Lisa Scarbrough recognized the honorees and presented them with awards.O’Rourke resides in Winneshiek County and recently retired from her position at Iowa State, where she served as a farm and agribusiness management specialist for 13 years.
In her early career, O’Rourke taught vocational business and agriculture, mentoring youth anticipating careers in agribusiness. Later, she earned her Juris Doctor degree and practiced law in South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa representing farm operators and ag businesses in litigation and providing counsel on farm business management. At ISU Extension and Outreach, O’Rourke was a leader and innovator of several educational programs including farm transition and succession planning, human resources, farmland leasing and conservation, and beginning and early-career farming.
She provided consultation for individuals and wrote many popular publications for the Iowa State Ag Decision Maker website. She received the 2021 Bob Wells Memorial Award for her many contributions to women in ag programs from the national Annie’s Project–Education for Farm Women organization. O’Rourke and her husband operated Dry Creek Acres, a registered Toggenburg dairy goat operation, for nearly three decades. She served on the American Dairy Goat Association board of directors and led an initiative to update the linear appraisal classification system to improve genetics.
She also served on the American Goat Federation board.
O’Rourke was instilled with the belief that volunteer service builds comunities. Recognizing the need for a nonprofit community health center to serve all persons, she established the Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center, Iowa and served as its president. She is passionate about providing services to the immigration community and has volunteered as an attorney and advocate for the Center for Assistance, Service, and Advocacy in Northwest Iowa and Northeast Iowa Peace and Justice Center-Immigration Working Group. She also advocates for domestic violence victims and survivors of crimes via nonprofit agencies.
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