How Women in Ag Access Farm Land

There has been a 30 percent increase of women operating or co-operating farms and ranches between 1982 and 2007 according to the latest U.S. Census of Agriculture. University of Idaho sociologist Dr. Ryanne Pilgeram is recording Idaho female farmers' stories and studying their impact on agriculture. She shares

Pilgeram: "My research looks at how women access farmland. My findings suggest three primary methods for accessing farm land. Access through traditional means of marrying a male farmer and then carving out space for oneself as a farmer. Accessing land later in life at average age of about 43 after a life alternating event like divorce and using personal financial means such as retirement income or selling appreciated property. Or third women accessing farmland at a young age at average age of 27 through fairly prudent financial planning and pooling of marital resources with a husband that works off the farm. What I think is really important about my research is that these different methods of land access should not be presumed necessarily as a progressive narrative to greater access to land for all women. So what my findings suggest that these are mostly white women and are highly educated more so than the general education level of the state. The youngest women in the study are also most likely to have husbands that work off the farm to support the operation."