Tiffany Nichols knows what she wants in life
The famous question, “What does a woman want?” was asked and left unanswered by Sigmund Freud, and it’s one I can’t pretend to solve either.
But the question matters more than ever to ag journalists, agri-marketers and farmer advisers—all of us who need to communicate with female farmers.
One of the big surprises in the 2007 Census of Agriculture was the growth in the number of farm women. Women classified as "principal operators" increased by almost one third since the ’02 census. There were 306,209 female principal operators counted in 2007, up from 237,819 in 2002. And we know that beyond these primary operators, farm women have significant roles in the management of most of the nation’s farms and ranches.
When it comes to what they want in ag information, farm women appear to be all business, according to a recent Successful Farming magazine survey.
In the survey, farm women ranked 66 topics in the order of their interest. The five most popular topics were:
* Farm tax strategies and estate planning.
* Government farm programs and policy
* Home-based business for farm families
* Farm business management
* Making farms safer for kids/adults.
At face value, this list seems to suggest that women are hungry for information that will make their farms more secure, safe, and prosperous.
A female colleague of mine, a young woman who grew up on a farm, tells me she suspects that these women might be telling us what they think they ought to be reading, that is, that it’s their role to focus on financial security and safety. She points out that the women surveyed say their favorite Successful Farming feature is All Around the Farm, a collection of practical tips from farmers--the same page that is top-rated by all readers.
In the social media space, such as Agriculture Online’s Women in Agriculture forum, you get a little different picture. If you look at the list of discussion group topics there, you’ll see that business issues aren’t entirely ignored. But, recent hot topics include household management tips, food recipes, and personal and family issues.
Looking at the new social network for young and beginning farmers, Farmers for the Future, young women have staked out a lot digital turf on the site, and many of their interests parallel those of the men.
Today, in the network, for example, I found female farmers and ranchers commenting on topics like calving ease, finding land, and shopping for machinery online. Not much on things like recipes and housekeeping.
One young farm woman, Tiffany Nichols, writes in her profile page:
“I am in the process of taking over parts of the farm from my father. My younger brother and I plan to fully take over and grow the operation.”
What do farm women want? For Tiffany, it's the same thing her brother wants: to farm.
6 comments:
You are so brave to tackle this one! Speaking as a former Psychologist (a Freudian one at that), it is individual differences will determine what farm women want. Being a farm woman can mean as many different things as it can mean to be a "farm man".
Farming fulfills our basic human need to nurture, to build, to grow. The desire to tend something and raise it up, whether it is a child, a crop, or an animal, is traditionally considered female. Interestingly, men have been using farming as an outlet for that same desire since the beginning of time.
Women who run the farm generally have to run the household too. My guess is that they want some extra hands and some extra hours in a day. At least that's what I want!
Grat article, John. I learned much from it. I won't answer for LuAnn but I would think she would say a good husband!
Our love of agriculture just makes our love for each other even better and stronger.
My long version response is over on the Women in Ag board...it can be pretty much summed up as follows:
Women of a "certain age" - which is what constitutes many of that board's regulars - have reached a comfortable position in regards to production and business organization of their family's farming operations for the most part. We have developed a store of knowledge and information, habits and proven practices that have brought us through decades of farming in one piece. We mostly require information that responds to changed circumstances on the ag scene...what the economic downturn will mean for farmers, what estate tax changes will require to protect our family's asets, how we can transition into retirement in this new reality, etc.
Our families - their health and happiness - are our most important concern. Farming and the farm business are means of supporting that end.
The younger girls over on the "future" page are still in a knowledge acquisition mode, their stage of personal growth and development is very different from that of a woman in her forties or fifties. They are still learning the "how" of farming. Their concerns are important to us older heads, since we are the ones who will necessarily have to help them into farming in many respects...but just because our overall goal may coincide, does not mean that we need the exactly the same information to make correct decisions.
Asking what farm women want is sort of like asking for investment advice. The answer is one thing if you are older and perhaps approaching the end of your active career, something entirely different if you are twenty-something.
The time function changes everything.
I think that a neat article would address this developmental perspective...what a farm woman wants in her 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond. There is the business sidee and then there's the personal side...and we're all different, for all of our similarities.
BTW, the best way to find out what a woman wants is to ASK her. Thanks for asking....
Hello !.
You may , probably very interested to know how one can manage to receive high yields .
There is no initial capital needed You may begin to get income with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.
AimTrust is what you need
The company represents an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.
Its head office is in Panama with structures around the world.
Do you want to become an affluent person?
That`s your choice That`s what you desire!
I feel good, I began to get real money with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. It`s all about how to select a proper companion utilizes your savings in a right way - that`s it!.
I take now up to 2G every day, and what I started with was a funny sum of 500 bucks!
It`s easy to start , just click this link http://sisulupy.wtcsites.com/isyfah.html
and lucky you`re! Let`s take our chance together to feel the smell of real money
Hi !.
You may , perhaps curious to know how one can manage to receive high yields .
There is no initial capital needed You may start to get income with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.
AimTrust is what you thought of all the time
AimTrust represents an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.
Its head office is in Panama with structures around the world.
Do you want to become a happy investor?
That`s your choice That`s what you desire!
I`m happy and lucky, I started to take up income with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. It`s all about how to choose a proper partner who uses your money in a right way - that`s it!.
I earn US$2,000 per day, and my first investment was 500 dollars only!
It`s easy to start , just click this link http://rocifaqydy.easyfreehosting.com/wycakyl.html
and go! Let`s take this option together to become rich
tired of comments like "Please, leave me alone. " or buy antibiotics online. Then write to me at icq 75949683256...
Post a Comment