Proud to be part of a worldwide sisterhood of women in agriculture
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Women have always shared in the work of American agriculture
Iris Eppley, Special to the Times Recorder
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See the massive pumpkin that smashed a world record
Ron Wallace, a Rhode Island grower, has once again cultivated the world’s heaviest pumpkin that weighs more than 3,000 pounds.
Farming has never been just a man’s job. Women have tended livestock, raised crops, cared for families and kept farms going for generations, and I’m proud to be one of them.
The International Day of Rural Women was celebrated on October 15, a date designated by the United Nations General Assembly. The UN also declared 2026 as the International Year of Women Farmers. I'm proud to be a part of this sisterhood of women around the world who work in agricultural production. About 43% of the global agricultural labor force are women.
In developing nations, women produce from 60% to 80% of the food. Historically, women have always been a part of the agriculture community. In the Old Testament, there are stories about women tending sheep. In U.S. history, women have provided support and physical work on farms, often unacknowledged. Women carried a heavy load of travel, child care, education, housework, farm work, and often loneliness as the farm families moved westward.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 2022 farm census, women make up 36.3% of all agriculture producers in the U.S. About 58% of all U.S. farms have at least one female producer making business and farming decisions. In Ohio, 33.1% of agricultural producers are women. Texas has the most in total numbers of women farmers/ranchers. Arizona and Alaska have the highest percentage of women farmers at 47.9% and 47.6%, respectively. This is partly because women have a large share of control of tribal land.
Women are involved in all types of crops and livestock, but tendencies lean to smaller livestock like sheep and goats, specialty crops, greenhouses, and aquaculture. Women in agriculture also have the opportunity to serve on the boards of agriculture commodities associations where they can have an influence on production, promotion, education, and government legislation.
Female farmers frequently balance their physical farm work with child care, homemaking, community service, and off-farm employment for healthcare benefits. It is a good life I would not trade for another.
Iris Eppley is a member of the Farm Bureau Council.
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