Standing Up in AG
Just because I can pee standing up, but can’t write my name in the snow, doesn’t make me any less of a woman in this world. I’ve got grit under my nails and boots caked with mud, but it doesn’t mean I’m here to prove anything about who I am. My role in agriculture isn’t defined by stereotypes but by the strength of my character, my love for the land, and the purpose I bring to each day.
As a woman in agriculture, I’ve learned to respect what’s raw, resilient, and growing. The fields don’t care if I’m one of the few women out here working the cattle or checking soil composition for regenerative practices. They care only for the way I show up: ready to work, ready to invest in the future. I navigate fields where droughts come and go, and where decisions have decades-long impacts on land, food, and community. Each of us connected to this life is not just farming a plot of land—we’re shepherding a legacy.
Women have been keeping land alive and thriving for as long as agriculture has existed. It’s not only our history; it’s our way of being. Just like soil under my fingers or the sun on my neck, this work gives me strength and shapes the woman I am. From leading initiatives to implement sustainable grazing to working shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow farmers, I embrace each challenge and each decision that leaves a lasting mark on our shared landscape.
People often assume that agriculture belongs to the men who traditionally worked it, yet they forget that the woman’s work in agriculture is often the very backbone that keeps it all together. Women make up nearly a third of the world’s agricultural workforce, and many are pioneering efforts in conservation and climate resilience. This isn’t about proving ourselves; it’s about living out our roles with a conviction that runs as deep as the roots we cultivate.
To me, agriculture isn’t just about output; it’s about stewardship, a duty to the land and a promise to future generations. I don’t need a traditional seat at the table to know my worth. I know it because I see the fruits of my work daily. I know it because, just like the others out here, I’ve faced the harsh sun, the rain, the uncertainty, and emerged, still dedicated, still standing, and still committed.
It’s not my posture or where I can write my name that shapes my place here. It’s my perspective, my work ethic, and my desire to keep agriculture moving forward in ways that honor both tradition and the pressing need for change.
