New Study Finds Women in Agriculture Ready to Lead, More Support Needed

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s Women’s Leadership Committee, with support from JBS and CoBank, is unveiling the results of a new national study intended to guide programming dedicated to women in agriculture for the next five years.

Conducted via online survey and focus groups, the study provides a comprehensive look at women in agriculture in the United States. It also identifies the essential roles women currently play in building a sustainable future for agriculture as well as opportunities for growth, improvement and additional support.

“Agriculture around the world has flourished with the full support of women — oftentimes behind the scenes — but increasingly in leadership roles,” said AFBF Women’s Leadership Chair Isabella Chism. “As we celebrate the International Year of the Woman Farmer along with the 250th anniversary of the United States, this is the perfect time to make sure everyone has a seat at the table in agriculture. This study allows us to take a closer look at the role women play in raising crops and tending livestock but also balancing off-farm jobs, caring for children, volunteering in their community, and so much more. This study provides a comprehensive look at the many hats worn by women in agriculture as well as opportunities to better support them.”

A key finding from the study is that women in agriculture have strong confidence in their ability to balance farm work and family responsibilities. Most respondents also have a high level of confidence in their ability to represent agriculture in public or professional settings. In fact, 9 out of 10 women report feeling confident speaking at community meetings about agriculture, and an impressive number — nearly 90% — of women surveyed are interested in taking on leadership roles now or in the future.

Conversely, the study also identifies five key areas where the agriculture sector could increase support: time and caregiving; skill development; leadership involvement; financial future; and overall wellbeing.

For example, almost half (44%) of women surveyed reported interest in gaining equipment or technical skills training, while nearly 6 in 10 respondents (56%) expressed interest in business and financial management training.

“As a grassroots organization and committee, we have long built our programming based on feedback from members,” Chism said. “For example, we doubled the number of communications boot camps we host. This survey gives us contemporary data that will help us develop future workshops, online engagements and peer-support networks for women.”

Encouragingly, several data points reinforce existing Farm Bureau programming. For example, 45% of respondents expressed interest in policy or civic engagement training, and 42% expressed interest in community involvement or advocacy training. This aligns with the focus of Farm Bureau’s Women’s Communications Boot Camp, which has trained more than 350 women in agriculture in communications and advocacy.

Furthermore, the Women’s Leadership Committee has continually focused on the importance of mentorship among women in agriculture, an interest identified by 45% of survey respondents. Programs such as AgConnectHER serve to inspire and equip women in agriculture to succeed in leadership, not just in the agricultural industry but well beyond.

More than half (52%) of all respondents reported interest in training related to farm succession or ownership transition. Farm Bureau has featured workshops on succession planning at eight of the last 10 most recent Farm Bureau Conventions and nine of the 10 most recent Young Farmers & Ranchers or FUSION conferences.

More than 4,300 women in agriculture from all 50 states and Puerto Rico responded to the survey. A strong majority (61%) described their operation as a family farm, and more than 25 different crops and commodities were represented. AFBF and its research partners will continue analyzing the study results to gain additional insights.

Farm Bureau is appreciative of CoBank and JBS for their support of this study in order to recognize the essential roles women play in agriculture.

An executive summary of the study is available here. A full report is available upon request.