Farmer and senior extension associate Linda Stewart Moist (right) leads a discussion at a recent field day held by the Pennsylvania Women’s Agricultural Network. The rapidly growing organization offers education and training for women in a supportive, empowering format.

“But now there are lots of female heads of households,” she says. “That’s something that is taking place on farms, as well. There’s growing recognition that women are contributors to the farm beyond cooking and canning and keeping a garden, although those are roles that we still fulfill. But when we turn away from the tasks of farming and look at decision-makers, here women’s roles have increased. They appear to play a more dominant role in managing the farm, not just the tasks.

“My sister had a farm for many years, and she did whatever needed to be done,” Willits adds. “That included driving a tractor, milking, caring for chickens and ducks, tending a big garden— all the traditional roles. She also ran the computer and kept the books. So on the farm, the major change for women has been in taking a bigger role in management decisions rather than carrying out tasks. It’s part of a cultural shift—they’re taking a larger role in decisions in society
as a whole. They’re working off the farm so they’re bringing in the money that buys them a place at the decision-making table. And because men are also working off the farm, both spouses share all the roles, including making decisions.”

Willits contends that there are still insights to be culled from the survey data on issues such as adjusting to new roles, sense of well-being, satisfaction, and task participation. One set of questions asked about farm women’s overall satisfaction with being farm women. It turns out that they tend to see farming as a terrible way to make a living, but a wonderful way of life for raising a family.

For postdoctoral researcher Amy Trauger, the seeds for the 2001 survey and subsequent research were sown very early. As a three-year-old farm girl in northern Minnesota, she watched her parents divorce and her mother become a female heading a farming operation.

“We raised goats, sheep, and chickens, and made our living from the farm,” Trauger says. “Then she remarried when I was 13, and her role as a farmer evaporated. She didn’t get involved in economic decisions for the most part and she didn’t have a garden anymore—she had a career. It really opened my eyes to the different ways of food production and the gender divisions of labor. When she was single with no one to share with, she was definitely in charge. It was surprising that her role as a farmer wouldn’t continue, and it definitely sustained my interest.”

Trauger’s research is aimed at understanding the dynamics that encourage women to go into smaller-scale, sustainable agriculture instead of capital-intensive, industrial-type models.