Capturing the Multiple and Shifting Identities of Farm Women in the Northeastern United States

Abstract

The identities of women on farms are shifting as more women enter farming and identify as farmers, as reflected by the 30 percent growth in women farmers in the U.S. census of agriculture (USDA 2009). This article draws from identity theory to develop a quantitative measure of the identities of farm women. The measure incorporates multiple roles farming women may perform and weights these roles by their salience to two farm identities, farm operator and farm partner. We use a sample of women on farms (n = 810) in the northeastern United States to assess the measures of role identity in relation to reported decision-making authority, farm tasks, and farm and individual characteristics. The findings provide a multidimensional view of farming women in the northeastern United States, a far more complex view than traditional survey research has previously captured. This research provides a measure that other researchers can use to assess the multiple and shifting identities of farming women in other sections of the United States.* We thank L. Moist, A. Schwartzberg, A. Stone, R. Terman, and J. Findeis for their assistance in coordinating the outreach and research efforts that made this article possible. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

Queer Farmers: Sexuality and the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture

“…Trauger () argues that women are transgressing traditional gender roles by claiming the identity of “farmer,” and are more comfortable doing this in sustainable than industrial agricultural spaces. Women are more likely to report being the principal operators on U.S.‐certified organic farms (22 percent) than farms in general (12 percent), but these statistics likely underreport the actual number of women farming (Brasier et al ; Sachs et al ; U.S. Department of Agriculture ). Although the title “farmer” is typically associated with heterosexual men (Campbell, Bell, and Finney 2006), women play critical roles in food systems (Allen and Sachs ), and are increasingly identifying as farmers (Brasier et al ; Sachs et al ).…”

“…Women are more likely to report being the principal operators on U.S.‐certified organic farms (22 percent) than farms in general (12 percent), but these statistics likely underreport the actual number of women farming (Brasier et al ; Sachs et al ; U.S. Department of Agriculture ). Although the title “farmer” is typically associated with heterosexual men (Campbell, Bell, and Finney 2006), women play critical roles in food systems (Allen and Sachs ), and are increasingly identifying as farmers (Brasier et al ; Sachs et al ). Women may be attracted to sustainable farming for the feelings of independence and autonomy it affords, the opportunity to do traditionally masculine tasks, and “a work culture that does not emphasize mechanization or synthetic chemical use” (Trauger :304).…”

Placeholders and Changemakers: Women Farmland Owners Navigating Gendered Expectations

“…Research by Brasier et al () suggests that life transitions are important to understanding women's farmland management, and census data of Iowa landowners suggests the same (Duffy and Johanns ). These studies are consistent with research that has identified widowhood as a time of life in which women have more or the most power in regard to their farms because they are no longer dependent on male partners for decision making (Brasier et al ; Pilgeram and Amos ; Sachs ; Salamon and Keim ). As women farmland owners outlive their spouses, co‐owners become sole owners and may have opportunities to implement changes to their farmland that were previously complicated by the wishes of co‐owners.…”

“…While institutional attention to the importance of women in agriculture is increasing (see Harden ), agricultural systems remain gendered in ways that privilege the power of men (Sachs ; Trauger et al ; Wells and Eells ). Recent research emphasizes the importance of social relationships in shaping who controls the land, its use, and its future (Brasier et al ; Druschke and Secchi ; McMillan Lequieu ). Previous studies have found that tenants, rather than landowners, make land management decisions and that gender plays a significant role in landowners’ involvement in the management of their land (Petrzelka and Marquart‐Pyatt ; Wells and Eells ).…”

“…In their survey of landowners in the Great Lakes basin, Petrzelka and Marquart‐Pyatt (:558) report that when it comes to decisions about farmland, “[f]emale landlords appear to have the least power due to their relationship with their tenant, their relationships with their siblings, or a combination of these situations.” Carolan's (2005) study of land management in Iowa identified similar inequitable power relations as common between landowners and tenants. More recently, Brasier et al () have stressed the need for research studying women landowners to include multiple stages of life in order to better understand how their social power with co‐owners or tenants evolves or changes depending upon their life situation. To this emerging conversation of research studying gendered dynamics of landownership and social relationships, I contribute a qualitative analysis of Iowa women farmland owners’ pivotal position within the gendered landscape of agriculture in the state.…”