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FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE
More Women in
Agriculture
CYNDIE SIREKIS
M
ore and more women are taking on leading roles in the agriculture
industry.
Some might find it surprising, but over the past 10 years the presence of
women in agriculture has increased significantly, with a 21 percent rise in
the number of female principal farm operators. Today, 30 percent of all farm
operators are women, according to the latest Census of Agriculture.
Terry Gilbert, chair of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership
Committee and a Kentucky farmer, says many women gravitate toward
specialty-type and value-added farming, such as vegetable and fruit
production for local markets.
“Everybody wants to know their farmer, know their food and know
where their food comes from, and I think a lot of women are getting into
farming to answer that need,” Gilbert says.
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Although more doors are open to them than ever before in history,
women in agriculture still face obstacles.
There still seems to be a little bit of a prejudice or negativity against
women, a sentiment that “she can’t do what a man can do,” Gilbert says.
Despite the nay-sayers, “Women are extremely capable of being leaders in
agriculture and in farm organizations,” Gilbert says.
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She’s not interested in starting a gender war, believing that men and
women bring unique strengths to agriculture. She would like to see more
women become involved in agricultural leadership through Farm Bureau
women’s programs.
Training women to be effective spokespersons and to be comfortable
speaking in front of a group – talking about what they do on the farm
or ranch and why – is an important focus of the Farm Bureau Women’s
Leadership Program, with its “Growing Strong” theme for 2014-2015. The
program highlights grassroots initiatives such as the year-long Our Food
Link program that advocates the importance of agriculture with consumers
of all ages. Other initiatives include enhancing women’s business planning
skills, strengthening social media strategies and engaging in balanced
community conversations about food.
Learn more online at https://www.facebook.com/FBWomen or read
the Our Food Link Blog.
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 23