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A Farm of My Own:  ABC News: Women Farmers Drawn to Mother Earth  |
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kydeere40744
True Blue Farmgirl
1132 Posts
Jessica
Kentucky
USA
1132 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 27 2005 : 8:14:01 PM
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I saw this and had to share with my fellow farmgirls:
Even as U.S. Farming Declines, More Women Are Tilling the Soil
KUTZTOWN, Pa., Dec. 25, 2005 — - Tilling Mother Earth traditionally has been thought of as a man's job. But as the business of farming has changed, so has the face of it.
While the number of American farms has dropped 14 percent in the last 25 years, the number of farms run by women has increased 86 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
On Cheryl Rogowski's family farm in Pine Island, N.Y., five of the seven field hands are women.
"I've never been so happy as I am being back home on the farm, getting down in that dirt and getting it under my nails," she says.
'Makes You Whole'
Rogowski believes women are naturally suited to farming.
"I think one of the biggest reasons that women are good farmers is the sensory nature of it," she says. "To know that you took that tiny, little thing from that process of putting it in the ground and bringing it to full maturity, it's so tactile. All your senses are involved. You smell it. You taste it. You feel it. You hear it. It makes you whole."
Many of the women now becoming farmers are especially interested in organic farming -- growing healthy food in a way that's healthy for the environment, too. Women account for more than 20 percent of organic farmers today, according to the Organic Farming Research Foundation.
At The Rodale Institute, an agricultural research center in Pennsylvania Dutch country, all 10 of this year's interns are women.
"Women in organic farming, we tend to think more holistically and systematically," says Kelly Grube of the institute, "as opposed to narrow approaches of, you know, 'what can we spray that will fix this problem tomorrow?'"
Rogowski says women farmers also do well at establishing relationships with customers, from restaurant chefs to community markets.
"Farmers' markets are very intimate relationships," she says. "It's one on one. To have that one-on-one input, it's immediate input. You put the product on the table. You know if it's good, it's bad, what their reaction is. And you can take that home and use that to build your business going forward."
It may not be an easy way for a woman, or a man, to make a living. But for a growing number of women, it's a genuine labor of love.
ABC News' Betsy Stark originally reported this story for "World News Tonight" on Dec. 4, 2005.
Copyright © 2005 ABC News Internet Ventures
Jessica~Miss Wilma's Niece
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Dec 28 2005 : 09:46:27 AM
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Kewl! It used to be that women got into farming because they were widowed. Now it seems like much more of a choice.
Thanks for sharing that, Jessica! |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Dec 28 2005 : 10:44:07 AM
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jessica .. i so enjoyed this article. it really shouldn't come as a big surprize to we women to know that with our nurturing natures that we should honor the earth and care for all things natural .. afterall we are "mama's" at heart! and it is just instinctual that we would want the healthiest produce .. which translates to happy, healthy bodies and minds for our children and our families.
i know that down here in kentucky as in several other states 'tobacco' has put 'food on the table and shoes on the kids' ... and i do not for a moment, judge the hard-working farms that did (and still do) feed their families this way ... but ... with that said .. it is a very unhealthy product .. now perhaps, women can help guide what produce will be cultivated on the farms and hopefully, this will, indeed, replace the financial needs of the families too.
thanks so much for sharing.
True Friends, Frannie |
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cherryhillhouse
Farmgirl in Training
27 Posts
Barb
Dorr
MI
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - Dec 29 2005 : 06:18:02 AM
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Thanks for sharing this Jessica. I met several women farm owners at the farmers' market this past summer and I was surprised at first but then thought it made perfect sense. One of the largest woman-owned farms (Crane Dance) held an open house so folks could come and eat, and commune with the animals and land and it was wonderful! That farm also supplies my eggs in the summer - lovely pale blue and green and brown eggs quite different from those in the supermarket - so pretty that I don't want to eat them!
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Dec 29 2005 : 06:48:26 AM
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I'm the farmer here. My husband works off the farm as a forester. It's always been that way and might always stay that way. Men and women work in very different ways on farms. I'm better with the livestock because I am more patient and gentle. When it's time to load livestock onto the trailer I'd rather he not help me. I lead. He muscles. I've finally gotten him to slow down in the garden. Not every pest has to be almost blown up. It's ok if some of them just get squished between fingers. I pay more attention to small detail. I can see a half dozen jobs that need to be done while he sees nothing.
Physically, we're not the same of course. He can pick up 150 lbs and go. I have to balance 100 lbs on my shoulder just right and be careful where and how I step and pay attention to dips in the ground. If I need to move 150 lbs I have to get the wheelbarrow or Hauler. He's much faster than me in jobs like this.
Women nurture. Men conquer. The face of agriculture is changing rapidly and it's important that we women be paying attention.
Robin
www.thymeforewe.com
www.farm-garden.com/robin |
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Dec 29 2005 : 07:41:12 AM
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Jessica,
Thanks for posting that article. They could've been interviewing any number of girls from this site! I think it's countless how many women do love dirt under their nails, nurturing living things from plants to animals, and making their environment healthier at the same time.
I'm the farmer around here, too. My husband does love reaping and eating all the benefits, though! When I go to the feed store to pick up stuff, I run into more women than men. It's something to see all these little ladies driving big pick'em up trucks!
YOU GO GIRLS!!!!
Blessings
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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kydeere40744
True Blue Farmgirl
1132 Posts
Jessica
Kentucky
USA
1132 Posts |
Posted - Dec 29 2005 : 09:27:55 AM
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I always love hearing the good articles like this one that support the women who work hard in the field of agriculture. From the field to the table, the quality you get is superb and you cannot ask for anything better indeed. I'm glad that you guys like the article.
Jessica~Miss Wilma's Niece
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Dec 29 2005 : 10:49:41 AM
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GReat article Jessica..thanks for Posting it! I am for sure the farmer around here..but do get help with the heavy stuff...but if he isn't here I figure out a way.
I think the nurturing part of women does make a big difference..we NEED to farm!@!
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ |
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A Farm of My Own: ABC News: Women Farmers Drawn to Mother Earth |
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ABC News: Women Farmers Drawn to Mother Earth
