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Hitomi Tomizawa from WELI submitted some great photographs of President-Elect Sheila Marshman presenting at the United Nations. You can view a few of them below and the reminder on our Facebook page here. Great job Sheila representing NYAW and U.S. agriculture!
The below post is a first draft of my presentation that I will give at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. I would love your feedback!
Women in U.S. Agriculture
The role women play in U.S. Agriculture is as diverse as the industry itself. We are educators, entrepreneurs, executives, board members, and stewards of the land. As diverse as we are, we are united by our unique ability to nurture, as well as our common desire to preserve our agricultural heritage, protect the environment, educate consumers, and ensure a safe and prosperous food supply.
The global food system has many consumers demanding to know more about the origin of their food, and women are rising to the occasion to meet those demands. The 2007 USDA Agricultural census reported that 14 percent of our nation’s 2.2 million farms are owned by women and more than 30 percent of U.S. farm operators are women. The total number of women operators increased 19 percent and the total number of farms owned by women increased by 5 percent from the 2002 census. Those numbers are expected to double in the 2012 agricultural census.
Here in America we have witnessed unprecedented growth in local food and marketing opportunities. The number of farmers’ markets rose to 5,274 in 2009, up from 2,756 in 1998 and 1,755 in 1994 (USDA). In 2005, there were 1,144 community-supported agriculture organizations (CSAs) in operation, up from 400 in 2001 and 2 in 1986. The greatest success stories of farmers markets and CSAs originates here in NYC with the GreenMarkets. What started 30 years ago with 12 has grown into 54 markets, 230 farm families and 30,000 acres of farmland protected from development.
The GreenMarket Farmers Markets have helped change regional agriculture and the regional food system; it has revitalized rural communities and urban spaces, improved consumer health, provided fresh and nutritious food to those most in need through EBT/Food Stamps and Youthmarket programs, supported immigrant farmers, encouraged crop diversity, educated school children and city residents about the importance of regional agriculture, provided a wholesale opportunity for medium sized farms, inspired new culinary trends, and influenced chefs and eaters in one of the culinary capitals in the world (growncy.org).
American farm women are also stepping forward in many leadership capacities, in administration, public affairs, public relations and education, just to name a few areas. Our current NY Agri-women President and founder Cari Rincker is a farm owner, NYC Food and Agriculture attorney, as well as a leadership board member for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Young Producers’ Council. Member Judi Whittaker, a farm owner from Whitney Point, NY spends countless hours advocating for food and agriculture both at the local and national levels through her work with the American Farm Bureau. Advances made in all fields by the feminist movement have helped women make a difference in agriculture.
We are united by our passion to educate the consumer. We bring consumers together at our farms, we promote healthy eating and exercise to children, and we adopt classrooms through our Ag in the Classroom project. NY Agri-woman and farm owner Chris Fesko has rolled all these activities into one, through the creation of her On the Farm Discovery Center. Annually, she hosts thousands of visitors to her farm to learn about food and agriculture while also learning math science and language arts. This is in addition to the numerous award winning on farm educational videos that she produces and markets around the world. Chris also serves on her town’s board and is a director for Farm Credit East, the largest agricultural lender in the Northeastern part of the United States.
American agricultural women are blessed with a strong rural infrastructure supporting their personal and professional development. Our Higher Education system and the Farm Credit Banking System are two notable areas. Here in New York State we are blessed with several colleges of agriculture and technology including my place of employment Morrisville State College. We offer numerous applied agriculture degree to young men and women planning to return to their home farm, start their own farms and or enter careers in the agriculture industry. Most recently, agricultural business development student Jenn Masters worked with Nelson Farms, the college’s small scale food processing facility, to create Country Crunch using a recipe developed by her grandmother. Jenn will graduate in May with both a degree and an agricultural business in hand.
While access to credit is often a limiting factor for women who are interested in agriculture, here in America we have the Farm Credit System, a farmer owned agricultural cooperative. Farm Credit was established by Congress 1916 to provide a reliable source of credit for the nation’s farmers and ranchers. Today, the system provides more than one-third of the credit needed by those who live and work in rural America. New York Agri-Women member Jan Bitter is a Vice President for Farm Credit East, which serves farmers in New York, New Jersey and parts of New England. Jan notes that in her almost 30 years at Farm Credit the role of women on the farm and in agribusiness has changed dramatically. In the early 1980’s, most of the women who worked on farms were unpaid family laborers. Women in agribusiness roles knew that there were some farms that they couldn’t visit on their own, because the owner refused to do business with a woman.
Today there is a growing number of women owning and managing farms. Once a woman has a track record of operating a profitable farm business, access to credit is not an issue. Farm Credit recently initiated FarmStart, a program to support talented, hardworking individuals entering agriculture. FarmStart assists beginning farmers and new cooperatives through their start-up years by providing working capital investments of up to $50,000 to get their business off the ground. Farm Credit also offers incentives to young, beginning and small farmers to help them manage their farm operations.
Our combined efforts have helped US agriculture become the most developed in the world. Through our production efforts we provide food and fiber for the growing domestic and international markets. We supply the feedstock for an expanding bioenergy sector, and provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration to a nation increasingly concerned with the environment (Amberwaves, 2011). In part, it is because of US agriculture that the food needs of the world’s growing population will be met. We are doing so with a renewed interest in social responsibility, food safety, and environmental stewardship.
Women in agribusiness are now such a familiar sight on farms that they can’t be turned away at the farm gate. However, large scale corporate agricultural business in the US is still hugely dominated by a white male workforce that is traditionally in charge of decision-making and operation. We have great hopes that NY Agri-women members like Molly Zorn, a National Account Manager for Genex Cooperative and Rebecca Snyder, our incoming New York Agri-Women President and Animal Nutritionist for the global powerhouse Cargill, will be successful at making positive strides to break through the glass ceiling, paving the way for future generations of women to make decisions about agriculture and the global food system.
Although our success as entrepreneurs in the local food system is noteworthy, we lack the infrastructure related to the distribution of local and regional food. Currently we are not able to move local food into mainstream markets in a cost-effective manner. Finally, because most small farmers must combine their products with other farmers’ products to make processing and shipping more economical, challenges are posed for product quality, consistency, and traceability. Without traceability in place, wholesale buyers must assume higher levels of risk and liability in cases of foodborne illness.
Food safety issues will continue to be at the forefront of any local food model. It is my hopes that we can learn from one another to collectively develop a safe, secure and economically viable local food model that can be applied to all regions of the world. As I tell my students, it has been proven time and time again that a healthy rural economy equates to a healthy national economy, creating a win-win situation for all women in all countries.
New York Agri-Women member Erica Leubner, co-owner of Tim’s Pumpkin Patch inspired Japanese women of all ages to find themselves and their success in agriculture, during her November presentation to The Rural Women Empowerment and Life Improvement (“WELI”) Association in Tokyo, Japan. In addition to words of inspiration, Leubner served as an ambassador for American agriculture, the American family farm, and all women involved in agriculture.
Leubner was selected to represent New York Agri-Women because of her success as a female agricultural business owner. The title of her presentation was: Developing a Successful Agri-Business Using Your Strengths and Simplicity. Leubner shared with the group her decisions and successes at achieving a higher education, marrying a dairy farmer, and raising three daughters all while growing Tim’s Pumpkins Patch, a full service agri-tourism operation attracting thousands of visitors annually. The heart of Leubner’s presentation focused on growing a business slowly, giving consumers what they ask for, keeping the farm authentic, and most importantly, how she created a niche for herself within the family business in which she married. Erica’s presentation was received with head nods, smiles, picture taking and insightful questions about her lifestyle and agri-business.
Setting the smiles and head nodding aside, Erica’s presentation took her beyond her own farm, as she found herself playing the role of an ambassador for U.S. agriculture. The inquisitive audience questioned the international focus of U.S. agricultural labor, farm subsidies, the U.S. debt, corporate agriculture, and President’s Obama’s plans for further expansion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) for agricultural products. Setting emotion aside, and with great sincerity, Erica proudly defended the misconceptions of America. Leuber proudly told the audience that she “like many other farm women around the world rise at 5:00am every morning to do my share to feed the world, and support the family unit.” She also communicated that 98 percent of US farms are family farms. Leuber noted that “the conference attendees soon realized that although, we lived on different continents, our roles and responsibilities as farm women were similar.”
The Japanese women also inspired Leubner herself. In Japan, the women have traditionally been the major players in agriculture. Although, this may come as a surprise, Japanese women are oftentimes left to manage the farm while the men sought higher paying jobs off the farm. For decades Japanese farm women have thrived as farm business owners. They have created markets for their products in Tokyo grocery stores, established full service restaurants on their farms, and partnered with tourism agencies to develop agricultural tourism in Japan.
The success of Japanese women as farm business owners has caught the attention of the Japanese government. The Japan Center for Regional Development (“JCRD”) was established in 1985 to assist in the regional revitalization by supporting town development and regional promotion. The major effort of the JCRD is the creation and support of “antenna shops.” These are facilities established on the initiative of local governments to increase interest and awareness about agricultural products and tourism in rural Japan. In many cases, the management of the facilities is entrusted to the private sector. Operations include selling local products, operating restaurants, holding events, providing tourism information and holding consultations with people who want to move to the region.
Leabner was amazed to see the bustling shops and restaurants located in busy shopping areas in Tokyo that were filled with local agricultural products made by Japanese woman. Erica dined at one of the antenna restaurants, where everything from the place mats (artwork received from an artist) to the food, to the beautifully handcrafted shot glass were all produced by Japanese women. The trip to Japan was truly a life changing experience stated Erica, “I was sent to Japan to share my knowledge with Japanese women. However, it was I, who was inspired and educated,” said Leubner. The conference truly succeeded at bringing together and empowering women.
The WELI Association was established in 1957 for the purpose of improving the life and status of rural women. Conference attendees included: Japanese farm women from all different areas of agriculture including dairy, apple, tomato, orange and tea farms to name just a few as well as Japanese government leaders, rural community workers, agri-business entrepreneurs owning farm restaurants, agri-tourism operations and processing facilities for value added products, representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (“MAFF”), and professors from various Universities of Agriculture and Life Sciences. New York Agri-Women began its relationship with WELI at the First Annual Meeting held at Morrisville State College. Two members of WELI who were participating in the United Nations Commission on Women activities in New York, New York attended the conference.
Leubner will be making a presentation about her trip to Tokyo at the second annual New York Agri-Women meeting to be held in Riverhead, New York on March 3, 2012. New York Agri-Women will have two panelists next spring at the United Nations Commission on Women discussing food security.
I’m very proud of Lynn Mordas from Dashing Star Farm for her featured article and cover of Real Eats magazine. You can view the issue here. You can email Lynn to congratulate her at dashingstarfarm@gmail.com
