The number of women who were named as the principal operator of an American farm or ranch increased by nearly 30 percent between 2002 and 2007, according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture. Women composed about 14 percent of principal farm operators in 2007, and that percentage has held steady since then, according to the preliminary 2012 census released in February.
Women over 65 own nearly a third of Iowa’s farmland.
Census data from 2007 showed that women were more likely than men to operate farms with a diversity of crops, and to own a greater percentage of the land they farmed. Women farmers also tended to sell food directly to the consumer rather than to large food-processing corporations—an approach that the United Nations report has found to be important for improving food systems.
Leigh Adcock, executive director of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network, said she believes the U.S. food system will be healthier when more women farm.
In my research I was somewhat surprised to learn many women don’t own the land they farm….instead they lease long term…much of the reason is: women in many cases do not have credit options and are considered poor risk when dealing with banks and other financial institutions.
However, this does not seem to have been a major drawback in the success of the case studies in my findings.
I grew up on a farm, it wasn’t new to me when I made the decision 15 years ago to spearhead this farm project. The methods I chose to embrace were new to me, the learning curve was tricky for a short while…..the pay-off is and has been more than I ever imagined in many ways.
We are not yesterdays farmers or yesterdays farmers wives~
