Farmer with a Manicure

We learn a lot on these Field Mom farm tours from what is said, but there are many more things we learn by observation and listening beyond the words. And it’s not all just about the animals, the crops and, ultimately, the food. Sometimes, it’s a “people” thing. Who are those unknown people raising our food, anyway?

When we hear the word “farmer,” it undoubtedly conjures up a mental image. I’m not sure what the image in your mind looks like (we all come from so many different places), but the person, whatever age and behind whatever clothes you’re imagining, is probably a man, right? How often does “farmer” conjure an image of a woman? Probably not too often. Did you know there are more than 288,000 women farmers here in the U.S.! According to the USDA’s latest census, 14 percent of the principal farm operators are female.  This, compared to 67 percent of the secondary farm operators (partner, likely a spouse) are female.

On our last farm tour, the Field (city) Moms rode the bus together to the Larson Farms Partnership in Maple Park, IL, a custom (beef cattle) feedlot. We were joined on the bus by two Farm Moms who manage and operate cattle farms.

One of the Farm Moms on the bus with us that day was a woman farmer – the one with the manicure. She is not joined in her farming venture by her husband or brother. She is the farmer. She is a tall slender woman, with straight blond hair, great taste in cowgirl boots, if that’s what you’re into, with an impeccable manicure. By appearances, she was more hip than half the city moms on the bus (myself included). She told us that twelve years ago – if my math is correct, at the age of 38 – she decided the work-life “off the farm” just wasn’t what she had in her heart to be doing. She decided to return to the life of farming that she knew growing up. That part of her story is an inspiration to anyone thinking about changing gears (or career) later in life!

As a woman (and daughter of a farmer), I have thought of dozens of reasons why it would be extra difficult to be a farmer and the greatest challenge for me would be strength. Machinery and equipment is heavy, maintaining fences and pulling wires require brawn, other farm tasks require great strength for lifting and endurance to do it all day (think haying or moving produce around), animals are heavy. I could go on. She explained to us that, because she is female – meaning a smaller frame and less strength than a man – she has to do things a little differently on the farm. One thing she does different than most is that she trains her cattle to walk on a lead. This way, if she needs to move them around, she can use the lead, sort of as you would a dog. She also described how much she loves her animals – even though they are raised for food. Maybe it is because she is female, or a mother, or something else, but she described her softness for the animals and how difficult it is for her to say good-bye to them. She actually has another person take the animals from her farm to market so that she doesn't have to do that part of the job. She's a woman who has figured it out and seems to be making it work.

That Farm Mom wasn't the only woman farmer we met that day. Lynn Martz and her husband Mike are partners, along with other family members, in the Larson Farms Partnership, which is a custom feedlot. One might assume Mike is the primary operator and Lynn is secondary, but actually, Lynn manages the grain and crop operation. She is another Farm Mom who is really interesting to learn from and is clearly passionate about her work and life.

Lynn Martz with her grandson explaining the 

beef cattle feed rations to us (Field Moms)

I recently read someplace that a teacher asked some families, “How well do you know your doctor? How about your dentist? Maybe your banker, accountant, or family attorney? How about, how well do you know your farmer? How well do you know the person who grows your food?” I think that is a great question and we Field Moms can definitely say we are getting to know our farmers – men AND women!