Women in Agriculture, Part 2

This was originally going to be one extremely long blog post.  I have shortened it to 4 shorter posts.

I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about what it is really like to be a female farmer.  In an attempt to order my thoughts and (maybe) avoid ranting, I have organized this discussion into 4 basic topics.

You can read about the first topic relating to being a female farmer here:

1. Dealing With People's Perceptions

2. Female Farmer Support Groups

Due to the occasional rude remark from someone who does happen to think that farming is a man's field, there has been a rise of female farmer support groups as more and more women re-enter the agricultural work force.  I have joined and/or followed a couple of these groups on social media, but I am increasingly finding myself far more annoyed by these groups than I am edified or encouraged.  The women in these groups often take on a victim mentality, banding together to bravely combat the ignorance and rudeness of men who tell them that women shouldn't be farmers, or of professionals who (heaven forbid!) make an honest mistake and ask to speak to the farmer, assuming that is the woman's husband.  Can we all just calm down?  Look, the reality is that the large majority of farmers are men.  Agricultural salesmen, lenders, etc. aren't necessarily used to dealing with women.  Get over it!  I have no problem with a salesman being a bit surprised to see me walk into his office and ask about a piece of equipment.  As long as he's willing to still try to make a sale, we'll along just fine.  

Yes, I have had my moments of frustration.  These have often taken place at agricultural trade fairs, or other places with big crowds (not my favourite setting at the best of times), in which the salesmen simply look straight past me because (a) I'm a woman and (b) I'm young.  I am not their target customer and I will do my best to not be frustrated when an already busy salesman doesn't feel like taking the time to explain something to me when I am at my shyest and barely want to even ask my questions.

My other problem with the female farmer support groups is that they separate women into one group, and men into another.  This is not helpful!  Stop it!  We work in a field dominated by men.  Most farmers are men.  Most agricultural salesmen are men.  Many agricultural lenders are men.  Many agricultural scientists, economists, auctioneers, etc. are men.  We have to work with men!  There is no getting around that fact, and keeping all of the women together online or at conferences is not going to help us in real life when we need to communicate effectively with men.

You can read about the last 2 topics relating to being a female farmer here:

3. The Daily Realities of Life

4. Thinking About the Future