Many of us are acutely aware of how important women are to agriculture, but sometimes people outside of the industry only think of the man in the trucker hat as the main farmer. More and more, we are seeing women take over and operate farms themselves. That?s why FarmHer was started- to bring more attention to and promote those women in agriculture. One of those FarmHers is Melissa Eschelman, who we had the chance to talk to at this year?s Iowa State Fair. She started off by telling us how the program got started.
As more women become increasingly involved in agriculture, it becomes even more important to put the spotlight on them. Eschelman said the FarmHer program is unique in the way that it looks to combat some of the farmer stereotypes.
Even when farms are run by women, many people look for a man who makes the business decisions instead. Eschelman said it can be difficult to be a woman in agriculture because sometimes people just don?t take them seriously.
Regardless of the issues women face, Eschelman said she still has a ton of love for her job.
Whether you?re a man or a woman, farming can be a daunting task. Eschelman said she was thrown into farming at a young age when her father passed away, but she was able to figure things out to the point where everything was natural for her.
Eschelman added there?s plenty of content on the FarmHer website that helps bring attention to the women in agriculture.
For more information, visit FarmHer.com.
