By Rebecca Connelly
Women have always been an important part of the dairy industry, but at many universities today the number of women earning degrees in agricultural sciences is equal to or greater than the number of men. The number of women who are the principal operator of a farm is also growing.
When women in agriculture, or more specifically women in dairy, is brought up often times farm wives and dairy princesses are the first people to come to mind. These women play a very important role in the dairy industry. Farm wives are critical to the family structure and can have a role on the farm that is often overlooked. The dairy princess promotion program has a long tradition of being ambassadors for the dairy industry. Beyond these roles, across the US, women have quietly taken on additional leadership on and off the farm.
It is no secret that more women are pursuing degrees in agriculture. Figure 1 shows the increase in bachelor degrees in agriculture and natural resources from 1971 to 2013. In 1988 men earned almost twice as many agriculture bachelor degrees as women. Today the gender gap has closed, and at some universities women make up the vast majority of students in agricultural sciences. Similar trends can be seen for advanced degrees (masters and PhD) as well. If this trend continues, eventually the percentage of women with careers in the agricultural industry will follow, and perhaps the male-dominated industry will become balanced between the genders.
Figure 1. Bachelor degrees in agriculture and natural resources conferred by postsecondary institutions, by student gender: 1970-71 through 2012-13 (Digest of Education Statistics).
Women on the Farm
When female farmers are discussed, many assume they are wives who may help out once in a while. There are certainly many situations like that, but there are almost one million total women farm operators in the US and one third of those are the principal operators (Figure 2). Within the dairy industry, there are over 20,000 female farm operators and over 2,000 farms (5% of all dairy farms) with women as the principal operator (Table 1), very similar to the percentage of women holding CEO positions in Fortune 500 companies (4.6%).
Figure 2. Women farm operator statistics in the US (2012 Census of Agriculture).
Table 1. Women dairy farm operators and principal operators in the US and select top states.
| State | Total Women Dairy Farm Operators | Dairy Farms with Women as Principal Operators | Percentage of Dairy Farms with Women Principal Operators |
|---|
| Wisconsin | 5,200 | 398 | 4% |
| Pennsylvania | 3,037 | 217 | 3% |
| New York | 2,094 | 263 | 6% |
| Minnesota | 1,599 | 133 | 4% |
| Ohio | 1,227 | 106 | 4% |
| California | 674 | 124 | 8% |
| Colorado | 106 | 46 | 25% |
| United States | 21,396 | 2,314 | 5 |
In the US, farming is male dominated, however in the developing world, women account for the majority of labor in agriculture. Despite their important contribution to global agricultural production, they face legal, social, and institutional barriers that result in unequal access to land, technology, and education. In some of the developing world, upwards of 90% of food production and processing is attributed to women (Quisumburg, 1995).
Encouraging Future Women Leaders in Agriculture
It starts with our daughters. Just because she's a girl, don't assume she doesn't want to get her hands dirty. Teach her to drive a tractor, milk the cows, and what a balance sheet means. Whether she marries a dairy farmer, becomes a dairy princess ambassador, works in the industry, or runs her own dairy, she will have the knowledge and confidence knowing what an integral part in the dairy industry she plays.
The Penn State Extension Dairy Team is expanding resources for women in agriculture through these programs:
Beginning in March, Working Women’s Wednesday: Discussion Groups for Women Working in Agriculture will begin to meet regularly in Mifflin/Huntingdon and Mercer Counties. These discussion groups will talk about life on the farm, working in industry, and everything in between.