Farmers First: Let’s hear it for the girls

Happy International Year of the Woman Farmer, farm family! If someone had told me a decade ago that there would be an International Year of the Woman Farmer, I likely would have said something to the effect of, “Well, that’s the most unnecessary, gender-discriminatory thing I’ve ever heard of.”

Something in the past 10 years has changed my perspective.

Maybe it’s the single mother’s never-ending struggle to balance from-home career, children’s mental health, housework, property maintenance, church engagement, personal growth and social activism.

Maybe it’s perimenopause and the decrease in those go-along-to-get-along hormones. Maybe it’s watching my teenage daughter transitioning into the stage I’m transitioning out of and wondering what her future will look like.

Whatever the reason, I now greet International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 with a vehement, “Well, it’s jolly well about time!”

Male or female, we’re all farmers, right?

The short answer to this is no. It may seem self-evident, but I need to say it clearly: women farmers are not the same as men.

For one thing, women are still a very low percentage of primary farm operators – only about 36%. We see these numbers shifting, but some of that could be due to data collection procedures which used to limit farms to listing only one primary operator. Now, several operators can be listed, providing women farmers with greater visibility.

An article by Katherine Dentzman and Paul Lewin titled “A Fair Comparison: Women’s & Men’s Farms at Seven Scales in the United States” shows that there are additional differences between men and women farmers.

While women-operated farms generate similar income to those run by men (except on non-family farms) women tend to have less capital in the form of land and machinery. Because women often operate smaller acreage than men, even at similar income levels, they often face the stigma of not being “real” farmers.

Another key difference for women is the added burden of caregiving, according to “The Work of Caring for Others” by American Farmland Trust. Women farmers are more likely to shoulder the responsibility for children, housework, elder care and even off-farm jobs. This often requires women to step back from farming at different times, delegate off-farm responsibilities and/or creatively integrate family and farm roles.

Why should we focus on women farmers?

The fact is that the current inequities between men and women farmers are deeply rooted in both socio-cultural norms and legal structures. Women’s access to basic farming essentials, such as land and financing, as well as their ability to focus their efforts on agricultural pursuits are much more limited than that of most men.

Lest you think women’s struggle for equality is ancient history, take note: women could not apply for credit cards, bank accounts or home loans without a male co-signer up until passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974.

It wasn’t until 1988 and the passage of the Women’s Business Ownership Act that women could own and operate businesses without a male co-signer. (That’s right: the same year the movie “Die Hard” was released.)

What does this mean for women in agriculture? It means that women could – and did – work on farms throughout history, but they couldn’t own farms. Therefore, farmland and farm businesses were mostly handed down to men: sons, nephews, sons-in-law.

Imagine the father who had only daughters. How could he pass the farm down to an unmarried daughter and expect her to be able to successfully operate it on her own terms? It was virtually impossible.

Mine is the first generation of American women who could legally borrow money to purchase their own land and create their own business without the support and approval of a man. That means women farmers are often starting from scratch rather than benefiting from inherited resources.

It’s fair to say that most women farmers perform all the same on-farm jobs as their male counterparts, manage added roles in the home and often hold an off-farm job, all while compensating for societal inequalities and overcoming physical challenges related to our unique biology and stature.

How can we support women farmers?

This is not to ask for pity. No woman needs or wants that. Rather, it is a call to honor and support the women who are providing food, beauty and recreation to their communities.

Here are a few ways you can do that: 1. Talk to a woman farmer. Ask about what motivates her to farm, the challenges she faces, her creative solutions to those challenges. Understanding leads to appreciation.

2. Serve a woman farmer. Maybe it’s your wife, your daughter or the woman at the farmers market. Ask her what you can do to make her life a little easier. Wash the dishes. Bring the kids to their afterschool activities. Cook a meal. Give her a thank-you note.

3. Tell me about your favorite woman farmer. I am always looking for women farmers to interview on my podcast, “Food, Flowers & Fun: Visits with Farm Women from Around the World” (at penlightfarmers.com/podcast). Let’s feature them on the show and around the globe!

I’d love to hear from and about the women farmers around the country. Send me an email at kcastrataro@pen-light.org.

It’s our time to grow!

by K. Castrataro