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What Do Women Want slide
Technology can be overwhelming at times but it also offers us new ways to expand our outreach to beginning farm and ranch women. New tools also allow us to reach a broader audience, build better collaborations and work more efficiently. This presentation from the 2019 Women in Ag Programs for 21st Century Farms and Ranches …

Abbie Corse grew up hating cows. She went to school for journalism and got involved with arts administration. Then she realized what a lack of seasonal work and attachment to a land base was doing to her mental health. She and her husband chose to move home and Abbie began to reconstruct her relationship with …

Learn how to nurture kids' passion for farming while making sure they stay out of harm's way on your agricultural operation.

This presentation recording shares strategies and tools educators and service providers can use to help women farm business owners integrate lifecycle events into the business planning process.

Based on information developed by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), this University of Florida's Environmental Health and Safety website provides guidelines to musculoskeletal injuries associated with agricultural hand work. The guidelines are grouped into four major areas: Hand work; hand tools, lifting and stooped work.

AgSafety4u is an online course designed for new and beginning farmers, and for employers and employees of agricultural operations looking to enhance their knowledge and/or to provide professional development. The course provides a general outline of ways people working in agriculture can reduce risks, with an emphasis on tractors and machinery.

Compiled by the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, this bibliography offers a foundation for learning and communicating about structural racism in the U.S. food system. The 7th edition, released in early 2020, includes includes 250 publications and 29 videos that explore structural racism both across the national system and in specific food system sectors. Many of the resources …

Image of Erin Shirl Parker
This 2019 recording provides an overview of legal issues that are relevant to women-operated farms, and will help educators and service providers assess when to recommend that farmers or ranchers might need to seek legal advice. The session will cover issues related to land tenure, contracting, and legal liability including suggested legal resources for individuals handling …

Join Margaret Viebrock of Washington State University Extension in this 2015 webinar recording as she shares ways to balance your busy farm life schedule.

Whether you’ve recently become a parent, are about to become one or may in the future, its important to include postpartum period in your farm planning. In this Growing for Market article, farmer Katie Kulla shares her personal postpartum stories & experiences along with those of other postpartum farming mothers in this week’s article.

This webinar recording looks at what data collected by the 2012 Census of Ag tells us about women farm and ranch operators.

This article from The 19th showcases farmer experiences and research related to the challenges farmers — particularly women — encounter securing appropriate and affordable childcare. It also provides information about the proposed bipartisan Expanding Childcare in Rural America Act, which if passed as part of the Farm Bill would tap into the Department of Agriculture’s …

Using Census of Agriculture data from 1978 through 2007, this report provides detailed information about women farmers and the types of farms they operate.

Woman to woman networks are powerful strategies for beginning farm and ranch women to learn how to build businesses that fit their needs and lifestyles. One of the reasons that networks are so powerful is that they employ more coaching techniques than education techniques. This recording from the 2019 Women in Ag Programs for 21st …

This 2016 webinar recording examines some of the major drivers in food purchase decisions, and then consider specific strategies for positioning your products in a rapidly changing marketplace.

A group of agricultural educators recently collaborated to improve efforts for connecting with Hispanics working in the agriculture sector. This research report documents the process and results of their efforts. Methods used in this project can serve as a model for others offering educational programming not just for Hispanic farmers and farmworkers, but for other underrepresented …

If you’re a farmer, you know the joy of working the land, but you probably also know how stressful it can be. From family and financial pressures, to isolation and an exhausting job that has zero days off. On Cultivating Resilience, farm care starts with self-care. This podcast series from the Farm and Ranch Stress …

Title Slide for "You Did a Program, So What?"
You Did a Program: Now What? Your stakeholders want to know what difference your programs make. You have limited time. In this recording of a workshop from the 2019 Women in Ag Programs for 21st Century Farms and Ranches conference, a team from Iowa State University’s Women in Ag Programs guides you through a process …

This article in The Conversation, discusses how household expenses like access to health care and child care affects farm development, including the impacts on farms with women as primary operators. The authors are: Shoshanah Inwood, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology, The Ohio State University; Andrea Rissing, President’s Postdoctoral Scholar in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, …

This fact sheet highlights unique health and safety risk factors -- and practical solutions -- for women working in agriculture.

pictures of Angie Carter, Jenny Barker Devine and Sara Shepherd
Women bring different perspectives, values and priorities to farm enterprises. This webinar recording focuses on what aspects of rural life are important to women, how they learn, and how that influences decision-making with regard to production, marketing and land management practices.

This webinar recording focuses on what aspects of rural life are important to women, how they learn, and how that influences decision-making with regard to production, marketing and land management practices.

Hannah Breckbill standing in front of sign reading "humble hands harvest - a worker owned cooperative growing food to celebrate this place."
Many sets of helping hands, groups of supportive friends and well-timed opportunities, sit at the heart of Hannah Breckbill’s journey from Carleton College math degree graduate to queer organic farmer and beginning farmer advocate. As Hannah worked to create and continues to grow Humble Hands, she said she experienced unique issues as an LGBTQI+ farmer. …

This 2016 webinar recording focuses on legal issues small- and medium-sized diversified farms commonly encounter related to hiring and paying workers. It includes discussion of the minimum wage as it applies to farms, workers compensation, volunteer labor on farms, and discrimination in hiring.

This manual discusses operational and organizational issues related to sharing farm machinery for fruit and vegetable production.

Learn about strategies small-scale growers are using to scale up production through equipment-sharing models through this 2015 webinar recording.

This open access journal article presents the results of a survey of members organic and sustainable farming community in the midwestern and northeastern United States to identify influential authors, publications and organizations. Out of the 224 respondents who completed the survey, 171 (76%) listed books, 169 (75%) listed organizations and 123 (55%) listed influential individuals. …

Is it time for a pricing reboot? Do you know whether your prices are making you money or sending you to the poorhouse? When is it okay to sell something below cost? This 2016 webinar recording will guide you through a refresher on what you need to know to set smart prices.

Photo of focus group with text: "We asked women farmers what are the characteristics of a leader you admire?"
Many rural women farmers have limited access to personal development workshops because of lack of funds, time or transportation. This session from the 2019 Women in Ag Programs for 21st Century Farms and Ranches Virtual Conference share method for women to access self-led or leader-led leadership development education in which women farmers talk via video about …

This guide brings together information, tips, and tools to deliver effective, engaging online (and hybrid) education for farm and ranch women on topics related to farm viability, resilience, and conservation. It was developed through a partnership between American Farmland Trust and University of Vermont Extension. The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program published it in …

This one-page graphic can help you decide what type of virtual learning session might be best for your event.

This 2020 fact sheet from AgriSafe is designed for women working in agriculture on reproductive health exposures and associated risks. This two sided resource covers five areas of exposures for women and infants. Additionally page two covers common personal protective equipment (PPE) for pesticide use.

This 10-page guide explains the factors that affect cow behavior in interactions with humans, and describes best practices for handling beef cattle in a variety of situations, including chutes and alleyways, holding pens, crowding pens, and when moving cattle using ATVs.

This 2019 guide from the University of Missouri and the Pennsylvania State University explains the factors that affect dairy cow behavior and describes best practices for handling dairy cattle in a variety of situations.

This University of Maine resource provides links to important information and a set of helpful hints developed by Cooperative Extension workers to make our jobs and work environments safer. It includes includes a special section for staying safe in the field. Link to Safety Tips for Extension Staff and Volunteers  

This online fact sheet provides ergonomic guidelines that can help farm and ranch women prevent injuries that develop because of continuous activities over a long period of time.

Five things to consider when selecting a shovel.

This 46-page guide is designed to help prevent common musculoskeletal injuries associated with agricultural work. It describes work activities most likely to cause injuries and illustrates basic ergonomic principles for more more productive, safer agricultural work conditions. It also offers ideas for how to go about developing solutions that can be adapted to many types …

This 2015 webinar recording offers practical strategies farmers can use to step up your game in social media and email outreach to more effectively promote direct sales at your farmstand and/or farmers markets.

Title slide of presentation "We Found a Program. Now What?"
We Found a Program: Now What? Working with national project project the Women in Ag team from Iowa State University created a catalog of more than 40 educational programs from across the United States that might benefit beginning farm and ranch women, collecting and analyzing existing evaluation results from some of these programs. In this presentation …

Rhonda LaBatte in front of her high tunnel
Rhonda LaBatte is a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, a federally recognized tribe on the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota. Growing up in a rural area, Rhonda’s family relied on a garden to provide healthy food. Continuing that tradition from her youth, gardening has become a staple of her adult life as well. …

In this February 2023 podcast episode from the Agrisafe Network, Knesha Rose-Davison, Agrisafe’s public health and equity director talks with Nicole Gwishiri American Farmland Trust’s Women for the Land Southeast Program Manager.

This March 2023 Talking Total Farmer Health podcast episode from the Agrisafe Network focuses on the changing role of women working in agriculture and the risks that female ag producers encounter with a focus on these issues in Nebraska. The episode features Jessica Groskopf, a Nebraska extension agent, Carey Portell, and Linda Emanuel, AgriSafe’s Community …

It can be hard to know when, and where, to invest your precious marketing dollars. This 2016 webinar recording looks at ways to draft a basic marketing plan designed to get small and medium-sized farms and food businesses the results they need.

This 2019 Report from American Farmland Trust found women landowners are important in the broader implementation of conservation practices on farms. The report also shows women-only learning circles work as a means for expanding conservation actions and women who participated want to learn more. Additional reports and documents are available at American Farmland Trust’s Research Into …

Learn how to create farmers' market displays that really sell.

This presentation and companion The Art of Negotiation Worksheet presents information, strategies and practice opportunities to help women farm owners and managers build their negotiation skill set. These resources also address some key knowledge, skill and confidence challenges female farmers may encounter in a variety of negotiation settings.

 This 5-page worksheet, developed in conjunction with The Art of Negotiation presentation, is designed to help farm women think through and prepare for a variety of negotiations.

Helping farmers get what they need Negotiation is an essential business strategy –whether farm women are negotiating a sales contract, an employment opportunity or want to clarify who is cooking dinner—negotiation is part of every agricultural business owner’s toolkit. But women frequently feel unprepared and unskilled in this form of communication. Following are materials for …

This toolkit contains materials for educators interested in programming to help develop of negotiation skills with women farmers and ranchers. The toolkit includes workshop materials, a recording of a training webinar, and a supplemental worksheet for participants.

This 2020 journal article examines childcare arrangements and an under-recognized challenge through which farm household dynamics directly influence agricultural production. The article draws on interviews and focus group data to identify and analyze social, economic and cognitive pathways through which childcare affects farm operations. Citation: Rissing, A., Inwood, S.M. and E. Stengel. 2020. “Farming Parents …

Organics are at the heart of Tiffany’s passion for providing her community with produce that has fresh, local flavor. Operating alongside her partner, Jimmy Fackert, she grows a wide variety of vegetables and herb seedlings, along with a selection of annuals, perennials, and native plants.

This recorded video presentation explains how women can get involved at the local level where decisions about farms are being made.

One of the biggest challenges in reaching your farm goals is likely related to employees—finding, training, and retaining them. This 2016 webinar recording is the second of a two-part series aimed at helping women farmers and ranchers select the right employees and their teams off to a great start this growing season.

Visar views her operation as another way to practice what she preaches – health and wellness. An occupational therapist, she has long endorsed the importance of incorporating fruits and vegetables into daily diet for overall health. With help from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, she has expanded her reach as a local source of quality …

This 4-page, 2019 brief summarizes a study of how Northern New England farmers are impacted by climate change, specific tools and resources they need to adapt, and the barriers they encounter. It provides insights into ways advisors can better assist farmers with climate change adaptation, and the different perspectives researchers/advisors and farmers bring to the …

Women4theLand provides information, networking, education and resources to women landowners and farmers. The program is a collaborative effort of the Indiana Conservation Partnership and other agricultural and natural resources partners. Women4theLand seeks to empower women to make good science-based land use and management decisions that lead to more viable communities and stronger farm enterprises. It uses conservation learning circles, to help women learn how to …

This award-winning manual from the Women, Food and Agriculture Network gives user an overview of the rationale and methodology for targeting outreach to non-operator women landowners, particularly those 65 and older who now control a significant percentage of US farmland. It also outlines a number of conservation demonstration activities, which range from very simple to more complex, both in …

This paper examines exposure to occupational injury producing events among women within the context of role and Haddon’s Injury Model.

This American Farmland Trust fact sheet provides an overview of demographic, production, economic about women farmers and ranchers. It also identifies assets women producers bring to their enterprises, as well as disparities in their performances and barriers women farmers frequently encounter.

This 2017 article focus on how tool selection can affect the safety and productivity of women farmers.

Women’s Roles in Farm and Ranch Transition Planning is an online course for women in agriculture.The course introduces transition planning activities and terminology to give women of all ages specific action steps they can take. Women will learn how to help move a farm or ranch business to the next generation whether family or non-family is involved. Communication tips and tools will help women talk to their family and others.

In this podcast series hosted by Ashley Ahearn, from Boise State Public Radio, you’ll visit working ranches to meet women who are changing the way meat is raised in several US western states. “Ahearn saddles up, microphone in hand, to bring us a series of sound-rich portraits of women ranchers – their big dreams and …

This 2020 article examines the relationship between childcare, the farm business, and the farm family while probing larger questions related to quality of life, labor market outcomes, and the gendered nature of work as families negotiate on-and off-farm roles and household needs. Citation: Inwood, S.M. and Stengel, E. 2020. “Community and Care: Exploring Child Care in …