In conducting research on the role of women in agriculture over the past weeks in commemoration of Women’s History Month, several noteworthy articles emerged from a team of researchers at the University of Georgia. In the spirit of service journalism for which Lessiter Media prides itself, here are new insights on the health and wellness — and struggles to optimize both — for women working in agriculture.
A particularly valuable article, published just minutes before I came to UGA Today’s online site last week, proved both timely and topical. In penning the piece, “Understanding stressors female farmers face,” Erica Techo summarized findings from recent research from the University of Georgia College of Public Health. She noted that the work placed a spotlight on how stressful female farming can be, for owners and managers, with emphasis on the often overlooked challenges that have gone largely unreported in the agricultural arena.
Techo covers the research, compiled from interviews, where researchers looked to identify the virtual wellness index, noting that key stressors for this population are many, from animal mortality, succession planning for farms to the impact of gender roles and stereotypes.
“Physically, you’re worried about injuries and illnesses, all those traditional stressors that farmers face,” said Christina Proctor, lead author and associate professor of health promotion and behavior at the University of Georgia. “But then the women in these leadership roles are also thinking, ‘How am I going to act in a way that the men working in this occupation respect me and see me as their leader or their boss?’” The article shares one particular comment an woman farmer offered the interviewers. She recounted how common it was for people to greet her but immediately ask for “the bossman,” with the assumption it would not be her in a position of authority.
“Even when they are the primary decision maker, male family members will be addressed first,” found Proctor.
This explains why the researchers titled their work as they did as published in Rural Sociology in February, “Can I Speak to the Bossman?” Sources of Stress, Behavioral Adaptations, and Role Incongruency in Female Farmers.”
Additional insights from Proctor and the research team were shared by Techo, bringing awareness to the myriad issues that they acknowledge do not always register on surveys and studies of male farmers. Key takeaways and excerpts from Techo’s UGA Today article on the study are shared here.
- Stress associated with animal wellbeing may be exacerbated in times where animal disease is more prevalent, an important consideration given recent news about the spread of bird flu in the United States.
- Proctor noted that while both male and female farmers talked about operational continuity in interviews, female farmers identified succession planning as a major source of stress, with women facing more difficulties when coming into ownership. The article further reports that researchers found perspectives varied among farmers. First generation farmers were concerned about working hard to establish the farm and wanting someone to continue that legacy. Others, including a few fifth-generation farmers, worried about being “the woman who loses the farm,” said Proctor.
- The study also found that female farmers grapple with broader gender disparities in agriculture. Many feel pressure to prove themselves and navigate expectations that they must be both authoritative leaders and nurturing caretakers. Some adopt more traditionally masculine traits to gain respect, often leading to internal conflict.
“The conflict between the necessity of working long hours to keep the farm running and the expectation of keeping up with housework and childcare duties was a major stressor for many of the women we spoke with,” said study co-author and doctoral student Noah Hopkins in the UGA Today study summary.
Proctor added, “As I was doing the interviews, I was blown away by the women and what they have to do on a day-to-day basis. Just being a female farmer is amazing, but then trying to navigate the cultural nuances that exist in being a female that works in a male-dominated sector is its own challenge.”
Fact-finding, data gathering and ongoing research was identified as an important combination in the ongoing quest to find ways to best support female farmers, according to the researchers. Between gender disparities, stereotypes, succession planning and balancing daily challenges of family and farm, there are many compounding issues weighing on women in agriculture.
In the survey feature, Techo shares comments from the lead study author which drive home the significance and the pressing challenges on farmers, as well as agricultural companies and equipment dealerships across the country to work collaboratively at acknowledging and finding solutions to these very real struggles.
Proctor, who led the study and interviews, offered these final thoughts on the realities and the opportunities:
“Farmers are already very isolated,” Proctor said. “If you’re the only woman within four counties, how do we connect you with other women who are doing this? It starts with more peer-to-peer programs and more spaces for female agricultural leaders to get together just to talk about these things.”
These changes can benefit farming overall, Proctor said. Female farmers tend to lean into communal leadership, empathize with laborers and work collaboratively. These farms see more sustainable practices regarding work/life balance and community building, and studies have shown that this practice can improve rates of poverty in communities where it is implemented.
“I think farming and agriculture will benefit greatly for more female leadership,” Proctor said. “Right now, if it’s really hard for women to work in that sector, we need to ask ourselves, ‘How do we create programs or initiatives that ensure more women feel comfortable going into those spaces and represented within agricultural meetings, commodity meetings and more?’”
The research was supported by a seed grant issued by the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior at the University of Georgia. With Proctor as lead author, the study was also co-authored by doctoral student Noah Hopkins, masters’ student Chase Reece and Lauren Ledbetter Griffeth, UGA Cooperative Extension leadership specialist.
A similar study by another team of University of Georgia researchers was published by the Journal of Rural Mental Health last fall, co-authored by Andrea Garcia and Ian Marburger, of UGA’s School of Social Work, and Stephanie Hollifield and Andrea Scarrow, of UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. An overview by UGA Today writer shared valuable findings from the study, “A great life, if you can stand it”: Stress and farm women,” in a news article by Leigh Hataway published Nov. 18, 2024 on UGA Today. In that overview, “The women and stress behind rural farming in America,” Hataway focused on the study findings which focused on women’s ongoing and unique challenges of farming while raising a family and managing households.
With a recent report shedding light on the growing number of and roles held by women in agriculture which we recently covered, there is no doubt female farmers will continue to be a force multiplier impacting agriculture as challenges and changes face the industry ahead.
What, if anything, are any of you seeing and doing for wellness these days? We’ll keep looking for and covering this all important topic and welcome feedback. I'm always eager to hear from women in the ag equipment dealer space and those in professional services which support this important segment. Meanwhile, here's to the health and wellness of everyone working in agriculture — in all fields!
