I recently read a fascinating article about how almost every farmer who grows chile peppers in the rural southern state of Tamil Nadu in India is a woman. In fact, Vallal Kannan, a program coordinator for the local government-run agricultural center Krishi Vigyan Kendra, maintains that women farmers have always handled over 70% of agricultural activities in the area. Men, he continues, assume the agricultural roles that involve finances, such as supervising and selling, leaving the menial, labor-intensive jobs to the women.
This article led me to learning that the United Nations has declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer. This declaration highlights the essential roles women play across agrifood systems, from production to trade, which often remain unrecognized. Throughout the world women farmers are critical for food security, nutrition and economic resilience. By focusing on women farmers, the UN intends to raise awareness and to encourage actions that narrow gender gaps and improve women’s livelihoods worldwide.
Accordingly, here are some Daniel Boone Regional Library resources to expand our knowledge about women farmers, as well as to celebrate our appreciation of them.
- First, in “Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers” author Lisa Kivirist writes as a former Chicagoan who became a farmer as well as a national advocate for women in sustainable agriculture. This guide covers business planning, using tools, integrating family members into operations, and more. It also includes helpful case studies, inspiring ideas, and relevant advice from over 100 women farmers and advocates.
- Next, in “The Growing Season: How I Built a New Life — and Saved an American Farm” Sarah Frey, the youngest of her parents’ combined 21 children, tells the inspiring story of how she left her family home at 15 to start up her own fresh produce delivery business, then took over her family farm when it was threatened with foreclosure, and finally, expanded her business to include produce supply over seven states.
- “Working the Land: The Stories of Ranch and Farm Women in the Modern American West” by Sandra Schackel assembles oral histories from over 40 women of all ages — in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas — bringing to life their experiences and ties to the land as ranchers and farmers in the American West. Throughout her conversations, Shackle notes the themes of flexible gender roles, as well as creative ways women have pivoted to keep their farms functioning.
In “A Thousand Ways to Pay Attention: A Memoir of Coming Home to my Neurodivergent Mind” Rebecca Schiller expands the topic of farming to examine how her quest to live off the land outside of London coexists with her ADHD diagnosis.- Finally, in “Daffodil Hill: Uprooting My Life, Buying a Arm, and Learning to Bloom” Jake Keiser makes a huge lifestyle change from running a high-stress PR firm in Tampa, Florida to buying a farm outside of Oxford, Mississippi. To promote healing, the farm evolved into a not-for-profit organization that specializes in helping families learn about raising animals.
In “Check out these books and additional resources to learn more about women in farming, especially during this year spotlighted by the United Nations.
