Idaho has more women farmers now than it ever has.
According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this year, women run one-third of Idaho farms today. More than 10,000 women hold leadership roles on farms and ranches across the state, from the chief financial officer of one of the largest potato farms in the state, to the primary owners and operators of orchards more than a century old.
In 2012, the USDA recorded only 13,000 women working on Idaho farms and ranches in any position. In 2017, that number grew to 17,230.
Women are also the “primary producers” – the lead decision-makers or owner-operators – of 26 percent of Idaho farms. While that seems like a marked increase from 2012 data, analysts and state agriculture experts say Idaho women have always been vital parts of family farms.
A slight tweak in the way the USDA records leadership positions on farms is giving them more credit than they used to get. The agency says one of the examples was that oftentimes, a great grandfather’s name will be listed as the operator even if he’s passed, and they don’t count the people actually running the farm. (Idaho Statesman)
