It’s no secret that men have historically dominated agriculture in the United States and Maryland, but there has been an overall upward trend in the number of women-operated farms for over three decades. As an underserved population in the agricultural community, women still face unique challenges in leading farm operations. The Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA) is doing its part to prepare future farmers, including sending students to the Women in Agriculture conference held at Dover Downs, Delaware, February 11.
The number of IAA students majoring in concentrations within Agricultural Business Management and Leadership hit a record high this fall with 38 students and more than half of them are women. “Our Sustainable Agriculture concentration has attracted more women into the IAA,” says IAA Director Glori Hyman. “Some are fresh out of high school, while others are fresh starters out of long careers in other fields, but they are all filled with enthusiasm.”
Enthusiasm and excitement were felt throughout the Women in Agriculture conference, where over 200 participants gathered to learn and network. IAA students Becky Remsberg, Joyce Drake, Lillian Kahl, and Lindsay Barranco (pictured below, left to right) were among the energetic group.
“It’s definitely an excellent experience,” commented Remsberg, a first-year student, who plans to run her family’s Harford County farm after graduation. “One of the things I am nervous about is going into such a male dominated field, so it’s good to see so many women here.”
Remsberg’s observations are on target. According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, only 14 percent of principal farm operators are women. However, the same census reports that women make up nearly two-thirds of second and third farm operators. Combined, women represent over 30 percent of all farm operators.
Barranco, an IAA Sustainable Agriculture major who plans to graduate this May, hopes to become one of those principal operators. Barranco took advantage of the one-on-one entrepreneurial coaching offered at the conference. “I have three business plans, depending on where we move. I have my urban, suburban, and rural plan,”she says while laughing. For the past several years, Barranco’s been planning her farm business, and soon it will be time to put her plan into action. “The coaching helped,” she says, “but, now I feel like I have to find a full-time job to support my farm.” Barranco’s agriculture interest started with beekeeping and grew each semester as she took more IAA classes.
Drake, another Sustainable Agriculture major at the IAA, is still exploring all the opportunities agriculture has to offer. After spending three decades in social work, Drake says she’s learning so much at the IAA. “Everything is so new and interesting to me,” she says. “Much of what we learned at the conference, we already knew from our IAA classes, but it’s good to have it reinforced and to know we’re learning the best approaches at school.”
“Our country needs 100,000 new farmers to replace retiring ones,” comments Meredith Epstein, IAA Lecturer and Advisor for Sustainable Agriculture and Agricultural Business Management. “We can only achieve the goal of educating the next generation of farmers if we fully include women and minorities in the equation. That’s what the IAA has done over the past 50 years, and that’s what we will continue to do going forward.”
