Women in Ag On The Rise

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Women Farmers Are Becoming More of the Norm in America

With an aging farming population, there is more minority and women farm operators that are taking over.

Alan Bjerga, USDA Reporter for Bloomberg News Agency in Washington, DC. recently did some research that said in many cases a husband and wife run a farm, with the wife listed as a second signer. He recently wrote a piece on what attracts women to farming and what challenges they have.

Bjerga says that the love of the land and running their own business is what attracts most women to farming. They appreciate the rural lifestyle and want to raise their children in those areas. Also, the changing nature of the farm work has changed. Now, the “farmer” is becoming a knowledge job and it is becoming more common to take a tractor to the shop due to the equipment being so high technical and the physical work being less important.

He says that the high barriers of getting into agriculture is something that many don’t expect as it is an attractive, dollars and cents industry. However, the capital costs of start up farmers are so high, it keeps many out. That is why the smaller, alternative type farms are doing well, as they allow people to get into the industry in an economical way.

Additionally, college programs in agriculture are attracting and allowing for more women to get into an ag related field. This also creates a less exotic outlook on women who run farms.

Another note, is that Kathleen Merrigan was the USDA Ag Secretary before the current one and the current Undersecretary, Krysta Harden is involved in a woman's mentership project. There is also more women in the younger generation of farmers, according to Bjerga.

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