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| 7/7/2009 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | |
| | Women principal operators | • Montezuma County -- 1997 had 78 operators; 2007 had 202; a 159 percent increase.
• Dolores County -- 1997 had 15 operators; 2007 had 49; a 226 percent increase.
• LaPlata County -- 1997 had 87 operators; 2007 had 203; a 133 percent increase.
• Nationwide -- 1997 had 165,102 operators; 2007 had 306,209; an 85 percent increase.
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Mother earth
More women operate farms that feed Montezuma County, nation
Kristen Plank
Journal Staff Writer
During the days of old, men were mostly the ones who planted, tended and harvested crops in the farming profession.
In an increasing nationwide trend, women are now taking to the field. The number of women farmers in Montezuma County is even higher, and it's continuing to increase.
A census taken in 1997 showed 78 farms in Montezuma County with women as the principal operators, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. In 2007, that number jumped nearly 160 percent to 202 women principal operators.
Principal operators provide most of the labor for the farm or ranch operation and make the core decisions.
"I believe this is all significant," said Bob Bragg, director of the Industry Training Center at Southwest Colorado Community College. Bragg also is heavily involved in the local agriculture industry.
"We are seeing a number of people who want to get back to the essence of agricultural production," Bragg said. "People are seeing the benefit of producing food locally, rather than depending on it coming from somewhere else.
From his experience talking to women farmers, Bragg said a lot of the decision comes down to lifestyle.
"There just seems to be a real attempt to create a small farm that is productive and profitable."
From 1997 to 2007, the nationwide trend toward principal women operators increased by 85 percent. More than 30 percent, or more than 1 million, of U.S. farm operators are women, according to agriculture department statistics. The states with the highest percentage of female principal farm operators include Arizona, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and Alaska.
Although local numbers don't break down in specific acreage per farm, the statistics suggest many of the women-operated farms are produced on a smaller production scale, Bragg said.
Judy Rohwer's farm in Pleasant View is one of them.
Rohwer began farming for her family more than 30 years ago. With seven kids to feed, she had to quickly get her hands dirty peeling potatoes and butchering her own meat.
"If you can go and farm, then you have a spirit about you that is pretty independent," Rohwer said. "My goodness, you're not going to get rich. ... It's just there, in your heart and soul, something you have to do."
About three years ago, Rohwer's two youngest daughters decided to keep up the tradition by staying at home and helping out on the farm. Crops like lettuce, beets, carrots and onions are staples, but each year the women try to expand and experiment.
This year? Edamame and red noodle beans along with multi-colored beets and carrots are popping up. The women then go to the farmers market every Saturday during the season to share their wares.
Each of them has a specific task: One runs finances, another keeps up with weeding while another decides what to plant.
"They are real go-getters and are involved in every decision," Rohwer said. "It has been a real blessing and has worked out well."
Regarding why her daughters decided to take to the farm life while her other children found other jobs, Rohwer said it was a toss-up.
"Who is to say why some kids take to the farm and some kids don't?" she said. "I guess it's just in their hearts. They would rather live in the country than in a mansion in the city."
On the Net: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/
Reach Kristen Plank at kristenp@cortezjournal.com.
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