Women and the New Farm Model
Twenty-five years ago, less than 5% of all principal farm
operators were women.Today, women represent 14% of
all principal farm operators and more importantly, women represent more than
30% of farmers in farms with more than one operator .
On a global scale, women now make up over 43% of the
agricultural workforce. (1)(5)
Twenty-five years ago, less than 5% of all principal farm
operators were women.Today, women represent 14% of
all principal farm operators and more importantly, women represent more than
30% of farmers in farms with more than one operator .
On a global scale, women now make up over 43% of the
agricultural workforce. (1)(5)
Ladies of the Land http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/ladies_of_the_land Watch the Film Now On Snagfilms(2)
On Top of the Trending:
Women in Small Farming Find Themselves "ahead of the curve" in 3 important areas within the New Small Farm Model:
The Managable Farm Model Two-Thirds of Farms owned by women comprise 50 acres or less. By employing sound rotation, double-cropping, direct marketing, and sustainable management techniques designed to maximize yield, the small farm model of less than 50 acres can be a highly profitable venture (A 50 member CSA, for example, can be supplied by a farm under 25 acres). (3)(4)(5) |
Diversification
Women owned and operated farms have the taken the lead in the mixed farm model . . .a model that is an important cornerstone of sustainable agriculture. The "mixed" farm model provides insurance from mono-crop pitfalls, a manure-base, and the benefits of extended season opportunities. (5) |
Niche
Marketing Women farmers have identified the niche farm- product trends that are on the rise (such as organic produce, grass-fed beef, and alternative livestock ie: goats, sheep, alpaca) and have capitalized on those niche markets. By percentages woman-operated farms are on or close to par with their male counterparts in the following niche production areas: Fruit and Nuts Horticulture/Nursery Products Fresh Produce And surpass male-operated farms (by %) in: Diversified crops Sheep and Goats Poultry and Eggs All animals outside of hogs/beef (very close in beef 22-31%) (4)(5)(6) |
What Women Farmers Bring to the Table In the New Millenium.
On face value, agriculture and farming has been a male realm; though in reality, the traditional farming model relied heavily on the support and contribution of women. The small farm model, in the United States, is in trouble. In competition with agribusiness (to an extent) and foriegn producers, (a condition that was both tolerated and encouraged by male dominated legislatures specifically since the late 20th century) small farming needs new, niche, and aggresive tactics that will reverse this decline and infuse fresh ideas into a stale and dying industry. In that vein, women can (and have already) take a leadership role, looking at food,its distribution, and its production as an integrated, holistic, single organism. In the past, these three operations have been largely thought of as separate entities, except on a scale so large (agribusiness and cafos) that the quality of the product and the environment (both social and physical) have suffered greatly in exchange for huge profits. Trending within the womens's farming "movement" has shown an approach that begins to address these shortfalls and counter some of these important problems facing the small farm, moving forward :
From Pennsylvania's Women in Agriculture Day Conference March 15, 2007 (7)
" The emphasis on" values-added" implies these female farmers don't want to
simply sell raw commodities like corn or soybeans, which are basically just industrial building blocks, but they want to be in control of an integrated production process, from planting the seeds to putting the jar, can, package, or craft on the shelf and talking it up to customers. Many of the speakers recognized producing organically was by itself a form of adding value. "
" . . .women bring a deep understanding of how to intuit and respond to the
consumer's needs and the desire to establish a mutual relationship with the
consumer. They bring perhaps a deeper understanding because they are also on the
consumer end much more frequently than men."
On face value, agriculture and farming has been a male realm; though in reality, the traditional farming model relied heavily on the support and contribution of women. The small farm model, in the United States, is in trouble. In competition with agribusiness (to an extent) and foriegn producers, (a condition that was both tolerated and encouraged by male dominated legislatures specifically since the late 20th century) small farming needs new, niche, and aggresive tactics that will reverse this decline and infuse fresh ideas into a stale and dying industry. In that vein, women can (and have already) take a leadership role, looking at food,its distribution, and its production as an integrated, holistic, single organism. In the past, these three operations have been largely thought of as separate entities, except on a scale so large (agribusiness and cafos) that the quality of the product and the environment (both social and physical) have suffered greatly in exchange for huge profits. Trending within the womens's farming "movement" has shown an approach that begins to address these shortfalls and counter some of these important problems facing the small farm, moving forward :
From Pennsylvania's Women in Agriculture Day Conference March 15, 2007 (7)
" The emphasis on" values-added" implies these female farmers don't want to
simply sell raw commodities like corn or soybeans, which are basically just industrial building blocks, but they want to be in control of an integrated production process, from planting the seeds to putting the jar, can, package, or craft on the shelf and talking it up to customers. Many of the speakers recognized producing organically was by itself a form of adding value. "
" . . .women bring a deep understanding of how to intuit and respond to the
consumer's needs and the desire to establish a mutual relationship with the
consumer. They bring perhaps a deeper understanding because they are also on the
consumer end much more frequently than men."
A World View: Women and Farming In the Third World
In the developing nations of the world, woman farmers are the principal providers of food. The International Federation of Agricultural Producers now estimate that 80% farmers in the third world are women, and 90% of all food grown in these same regions comes from farms in which women are the main operators. In the past, women were farmers to a certain degree out of forced necessity. Now there exist literally hundreds of organizations throughout the world that have shifted the concept of women in farming from merely a function of survival to an important and influential force; a movement that is now addressing and rectifying a plethora of gender-based injustices that have been allowed to flourish for more than a thousand years. Among these injustices are questions of humanity such as rape, slavery, and male domination; and broader business and civil issues that include property ownership, education, access to personal and business credit and sufferage. Increased awareness brought about by the efforts of many organizations (such as IFAP, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, La Via Campensina, Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Mananagement) emphisize the economic importance of the woman farmer and then move the discussion to the important social issues that have served to impede the progress of the woman farmer; often the same issues that serve to impede the population/society- at-large from progressing. (7)(8)(9)(10) |
The American Woman Farmer: A Solid, Established, and Growing Movement.
Elements of a Pardigm Shift: The rise of women in agriculture and the steady shift for small farms toward alternative methods have many paralells that are beyond coincidental. As USDA statistics support, the acceptence and recognition of both have seen a steady increase since the end of the 20th century. Rural socialogists Marta Chiappe and Cornelia Butler have outlined some compelling paralells in regards to woman farmer's and their views to illustrate this symbiosis from a study-survey they conducted in 1998, the period that ushered in the dawn of the the acceptence of alternative agriculture : 1) Independence/Self Reliance: possibly a carry-over from more the traditional farm-wife role in which reduced relience on external inputs were a mainstay. 2) The Concept of Complete Food Systems: Self-provisioning. Today's farmer does not grow his own food and many rely on outside sources for feed. Women farmers not only trend to providing on-farm food sources but also look to the farm as a a wholistic system in which feed is grown and manure is returned to the land. A very close concept to the diversity model. 3) Local Trade/Local Sources : Reducing transportaion cost and supportiing local economies. While a simple concept, basic food supplies grown and transported from regions beyond our border. Women farmers buy and sell locally. 4) Sense of Community : In the survey women looked beyond the profit motive using their agriculture background as a "social icebreaker" to become more engaged with their neighbors and other members of the community at large. Additionally, this "sense of community" returned as a business positve to the women in that in that networks and links were formed with other business and other farmers with similar philosophies. 5) Harmony over Domination : The advent of the "petro-chemical" model of agriculture in many ways paralleled the philosophy of war that begat it. Sustainable agriculture, while mindful of the scientific side of agriculture, looks for methodologies that take advantage of natural cycles and systems, rather than trying skirt these systems or ignore them. In the survey the majority of women expanded on this philosophy by adding that leaving the land in pristine condition for future generations (proper stewardship) was as important as providin g for the present generation. 6) Quality of Life.* Three studies cited in the survey warned of quality of life and relationship issues that have (had) accompanied the conventional farming model. In each case the demand (s) for "bigger is better" and drive to increase cash flow often took precidence over happiness and home life. The women in the in the survey group were keen to recognize the significance of the "quality of life issues" and as such so the sustainable model as a more managable, less- labor- burden on the family as a whole and on individual members. (11)(12)(13)(14) *In the overall scope of Farming in the New Millenium this, the " Quality Of Life and the Pursuit of Happiness" may be the single most important issue (and the subject of the next section. (click text). |