WOMEN FARMERS ON THE RISE IN THE US AND IDAHO: UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING WOMEN FARM OPERATORS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1018649
• Grant No.: 2019-68006-29325
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $499,999.00
• Proposal No.: 2018-08367
• Project Start Date: Jul 15, 2019
• Project End Date: Jul 14, 2024
• Grant Year: 2019
• Program Code: [A1601]- Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities: Small and Medium-Sized Farms

Recipient Organization
UNIV OF IDAHO
875 PERIMETER DRIVE
MOSCOW,ID 83844-9803

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
While there is tremendous variation across women farm operators, as a group they are considered socially disadvantaged farmers by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Farms operated by women are much smaller (average = 171 acres, median = 40 acres) than men-operated farms (average = 413 acres, median = 90 acres). Even more striking are gender-based differences in average sales and average farm income. In 2012, average farm income was only $137 for women-operated farms compared to $25,009 for men-operated farms. Many farmers, especially women, must rely on off-farm income for their livelihood. In fact, only 32% of women and 47% of men principal operators have farming or ranch work as their major occupation. In addition, women who farm experience one of the largest occupational wage gaps in the US, regardless of their status as conventional or sustainable farmers. At the same time, the number of women farm operators continues to increase. This underscores the need for research and extension activities that support women farmers in achieving economic and social well-being for themselves and, by extension, their families, community and state. Unfortunately, most of the research on women involved in farming has not focused on understanding the mechanisms that create this inequality. Instead, research on women in US agriculture has focused on women's ideological reasons for farming (why they want to farm or ranch), and ignored the structural conditions (how they accessed the necessary resources) that frame their participation. Furthermore, most of the research on women in farming has focused on coastal states.Our project uses a series of methodological tools to explore what might be the root cause of women's disadvantages in farming and ranching and to understand if these findings apply to Idaho in particular. Our three research methods are designed to build upon each other. First, we use statistical analysis using the nationally-representative Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). Next, in order to understand if those national results seem to fit the lives of women farmers and ranchers in Idaho, we will organize a series of focus groups. These focus groups will allow us to speak with women farmers and ranchers to add nuance to our findings, and so that the farmers can comment on what may be regional differences between their experiences and the results of the ARMS analysis. Finally, using the results of the statistical analysis and focus groups, we will design a written survey for 650 randomly-selected women farm and ranch operators in Idaho. The data collected in these surveys will enable Idaho-level analyses (the ARMS data is not suitable for such analyses due to the small sample size of Idaho farmers). The survey will allow us to delve deeper into questions that emerge from the national-level analyses. The final two steps of our research agenda, the focus groups, and survey, will specifically ask the farmers and ranchers questions about what tools or resources would support their success in the field.Using what we learn in the research phase of the project, the researchers will work closely with UI Agricultural Extension faculty to develop a series of trainings and events to support women farmers' and ranchers' success. Specifically, farmers will be targeted with newly developed UI Extension curricula, online courses, train-the-trainer activities, and networking events. In order to have a broader impact, UI Extension will disseminate what we learn about how best to support these farmers by writing a bulletin for agriculture technical service providers. In addition, UI Extension will hold extension outreach sessions to discuss their recommendations during the UI Extension annual conference as well as at national conferences.Understanding the mechanisms that lead to inequality is a key step in addressing inequality. The goal of this project is to understand the mechanisms that affect women farmers' and ranchers' success and then design tools to help support them as they navigate these hurdles in order to reduce the barriers they face and increase their opportunities to achieving financial success and the sustainability of their farms and ranches. The success of these farmers and ranchers ultimately means the increased prosperity of not only women farm operators, but also their families, their rural communities, and the state of Idaho.

Animal Health Component

30%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

70%

Applied

30%

Developmental

0%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
803	6099	3080	50%
601	6010	3010	50%

Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 803 - Sociological and Technological Change Affecting Individuals, Families, and Communities;

Subject Of Investigation
6010 - Individuals; 6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3010 - Economics; 3080 - Sociology;

Keywords

idaho

agriculture

economic and social well-being

mixed-methods

sustainability

women farmers

Goals / Objectives
Women farm and ranch operators are considered socially disadvantaged by the USDA. Statistics on farm size, farm sales, and earnings through farming attest to this classification. The causal mechanisms of this disadvantage, be they structural, cultural, geographic, or economic, however, have not been examined. This project uses mixed methods to increase our understanding of women farm operators in terms of the institutional, social, cultural, and economic factors that affect decision-making and adoption of farming practices. Specifically, the project seeks to identify the main causes of observed differences in the success of women vs. men farm operators. If gender affects farm performance directly, then there is justification for developing extension and outreach approaches that meet the dissimilar needs of men and women farmers. If, however, differential farm performance is due to men and women facing different constraints, such as unequal access to inputs, then the success of women farmers can be better achieved by improving women's access to these resources. Using these findings from the project will increase the University of Idaho's extension capacity to build and provide programs that help mitigate constraints on women's farm business development. Increased farm business success in rural Idaho enhances the quality of life for farmers, farm workers, and society as a whole. Successful farms strengthen rural communities, thereby fostering long-range improvement and sustainability of US agriculture. This project will foster new and creative opportunities for the revitalization of rural communities. Long-term goals and supporting objectives:The long-term goals of the proposed integrated research and extension project are:1. Reduced barriers and increased opportunities for achieving financial success and increasing the sustainability of their enterprises for women farm and ranch operators.2. Increased prosperity of women farm operators, their families, and rural communities.The study focuses on women farmers in the US and Idaho who are either principal operators of single-operated farms, principal operators of husband-wife operated farms, or secondary operators of husband-wife operated farms. In pursuit of the project's long-term goals, we will conduct research and extension activities with the following objectives: Research objectives:1. Describe and compare the main pathways leading women and men to enter farming, that is, how and why they choose to operate farms.2. Examine whether women practice different farming techniques (i.e., conventional and sustainable) than men under similar conditions to assess how differential opportunities to access land and other resources may affect choices on the farm.3. Identify the underlying causes of differences in financial performance and household economic well-being between farms having a female vs. a male principal operator.4. Investigate how the main challenges to the farm business differ across women farm operators based on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, farming experience, size of operation, access to capital, and operator status (i.e., principal or secondary).5. Identify Idaho women farmers' educational needs and preferences for extension course format and delivery.Extension objectives:6. Provide beginning women farm operators in Idaho with the knowledge, skills, tools, and support services needed to make informed decisions as well as to access available resources to strengthen women's roles in the modern farm enterprise. 7. Increase the reach and effectiveness of University of Idaho (UI) Extension to deliver farm management programs that provide practical resources to women farm operators with beginning- and small-to-medium-scale operations. 8. Increase agriculture service and technical assistance providers' understanding of the unique needs of women farm operators and the skills providers need to work effectively with women farm audiences and individual clientele.9. Share best practices and curricula developed with extension and other agricultural educators nationally, thereby increasing the body of resources, educational curricula, and training tools available for understanding and supporting women farm operators.

Project Methods
In this mixed-methods project, data collection and analyses will occur sequentially with the intention of informing each other across research phases. The first two research phases will provide a national perspective on the study's research questions. We will (1) collect and analyze nationally-representative Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) data and (2) develop and estimate econometric models using ARMS data. For the third and fourth research phases, we focus on Idaho to (3) conduct focus groups with women farmers and (4) implement a written survey of women farmers and analyze the collected data. The ARMS and Idaho survey data analyses will share a unit of analysis (women farm operators), and similar econometric models will be estimated where the data permit. In the interpretive research phase, we discuss the (5) evaluation and synthesis of quantitative and qualitative results. Finally, (6) we discuss how the efforts of the Extension portion will be evaluated. 1. Collect and analyze secondary data Data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) an annual, nationally representative survey of about 5,000 fields and 30,000 farms will be analyzed. ARMS is an ideal dataset for the national-level analyses of the proposed research. Micro-level ARMS data are not publicly accessible but can be accessed under special contract by researchers at universities and government agencies. We have gained permission from Robert Dubman, Data and Survey Coordinator at ERS, to access micro-level ARMS data for the proposed research via the internet through an ARMS Data Enclave.The ARMS data will first be used to compare the main reasons women and men choose to enter farming and assess whether women and men who enter farming for income generation, speculative reasons, or lifestyle goals differ in terms of demographics, family structure, education, or access to resources (Research Objective 1). To begin addressing Research Objective 2, we will calculate the percentages of farms operated by women and men that use sustainable agriculture practices and assess whether these women and men farmers differ in terms of personal/household characteristics and resource access, especially land. Initial insights on Research Objective 3 will be obtained by comparing farm financial performance and household economic well-being for groups of women and men principal farm operators. 2. Develop and estimate econometric models For Research Objective 2, three logit models will be estimated using ARMS data on farms operated by women and men, where the dependent variables are indicator variables for the production of certified organic crops, the use of conservation tillage, and the use of planned crop rotations. Two linear regression models will be used to identify and compare the main factors influencing net farm/ranch income and total household income of women farm operators (Research Objective 3). Explanatory variables in the models can be categorized as farm characteristics, farm operator characteristics, and the path to farm business operation. We will use a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to identify the separate contributions from gender differences in the distributions of the model's explanatory variables. This approach divides the average difference in net returns to farming and total household income between the two groups (women and men) into the part that is "explained" by group differences in observable attributes (the model explanatory variables) and the "unexplained" part that cannot be accounted for by differences in observables. This unexplained part is assumed to be driven by differences in returns to the same set of observables (i.e., a structural effect). 3. Conduct focus groups Focus groups will be held in five communities throughout Idaho with groups of 8 to 10 women farmers. With the support of UI Extension, a modified snowball sampling design will be used to recruit participants. Focus groups offer opportunities that are important for this project as they provide an opportunity to share the econometric findings and get farmers' feedback. We are interested in understanding if farmers feel the findings from the national-level ARMS dataset resonate or contradict their experiences in Idaho. Focus groups with women farmers will also allow us to better explain and interpret the econometric results, particularly those that are counterintuitive. They also provide valuable information for the project's extension efforts. Specifically, focus groups will ask participants about their educational needs and preferences for course format and delivery (Research Objective 5). Finally, discussions generated during the focus groups will be used to create final phase of the project: a survey.4. Implement a farmer survey In the final component of data collection, we will conduct a written survey with about 650 randomly-selected women farm operators in Idaho. Collection of primary survey data will enable Idaho-level analyses, whereas the ARMS data is not suitable for such analyses due to the small sample size of Idaho farmers. The survey will allow us to delve deeper into questions that emerge from the national-level analyses. The survey will be the main source of insight for Research Objectives 4 and 5 and will include questions to conduct Idaho-level analyses similar to national-level analyses for Research Objectives 1, 2, and 3. 5. Evaluation & synthesis of quantitative and qualitative findings The final, interpretive research phase will evaluate our quantitative and qualitative results. Our MM research design is extremely effective at looking for triangulation and complementarity. If the results from the analyses are in good agreement, this increases the validity and credibility of the study findings. Where important differences exist, we will explore further to gain an understanding of the sources of inconsistencies. In terms of MM complementarity, the quantitative research will enable us to generalize some results, while the qualitative research will provide a richer, on-the-ground understanding of the patterns observed. The MM synthesis will result in more complete and convincing conclusions on how and why women choose to enter farming, why they choose to practice conventional or sustainable agriculture, the key factors that influence farm financial performance, and the main challenges they face in their farming business. Our results will allow us to better inform the extension components of the proposed project.6. Extension Efforts & Evaluation:In all phases of the research, there will be close communication and shared learning with the project's extension team. The primary efforts of the extension team will be to use the results of the academic research to provide women farmers and ranchers with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to make informed decisions and access available resources.Evaluation of the project's extension components will be established through brief surveys conducted before each program/educational activity (e.g., workshops, networking meetings, online courses, and other learning activities) to assess participants' needs, knowledge level, and characteristics before participating in the activity. Participants will then complete brief post-activity surveys to evaluate learning as well as the content and quality of the activity. Activity evaluations will also measure participants' knowledge and anticipated behavioral changes as a result of participating in the activity. Participation and attendance numbers for all project activities will be recorded and reported. Actual behavioral change will be measured by online post-activity follow-up surveys and in-person conversations at network meetings. Metrics will be built into the new Women in Agriculture Farmer Network Facebook groups to track use. To evaluate extension bulletins, we will track and report their dissemination and requests.

Progress 07/15/19 to 07/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The project hadthree primary audiences: 1) academic researchers; 2) extension professionals and policy professionals and 3) most importantly, women farmers and ranchers in Idaho. The academic audience has been targeted through various products including peer-reviewed articles; the extension and professional audience through conference presentations; the farmers through monthly newsletters, podcasts, and other events. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Presented research results and implications for women farm operator educational programming at the National Annie's Project Facilitators' Conference to approximately 75 agricultural educators and technical assistance providers from across the US.Shared project published research papers and fact sheets through the program website and statewide e-newsletters. Project team hosted a 1.5 day in-person professional development and planning meeting with 10 University of Idaho Extension Faculty.During the meeting, project research results were presented and discussed in terms of present and future educational programming priorities for small- and mid-size farm operators and women farm operators (note, research results indicated Idaho women farm/ranch operators do not have a strong preference for women-only farm programs). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The grant's impact also includes collaborative work with NGOs that highlighted our research findings. Specifically, Dr. Pilgeram served as an advisor to the American Farmland TrustsWomen for the Landproject which resulted in the development and distribution of a Fact Sheet that highlights research from the grant and more broadly highlights the role of women in agriculture. https://farmland.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/US-Women-in-Ag-Fact-Sheet.pdf? In addition, research from the grant was used as a part of the script development for the documentary,Women's Work: the Untold Story of America's Female Farmers. That film recently debuted on several PBS stations and tells the story of the, "often-overlooked contributions of women in agriculture." Dr. Pilgeram is a featured expert in the film. https://www.womensworkdocumentary.org/private-screening These outputs are examples of how the research findings from the grant were made accessible to a broader audience and then amplified by other organizations to highlight women in agriculture. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The final year of the project focused on the Extension objectives. Accomplishments related to Extension objective: 6.Provide beginning women farm operators in Idaho with the knowledge, skills, tools, and support services needed to make informed decisions as well as to access available resources to strengthen women's roles in the modern farm enterprise. Research results indicated women farmers and ranchers in Idaho are unaware of and/or under utilizing resources available from USDA agencies, University Extension and other state, Federal and non-profit programs. AIdaho Farm & Ranch Resource Organizations Webinar Series which provided information on resources available though 18 different entities including USDA, University of Idaho, Idaho State Departmentof Agriculture and Department of Fish and Game, AgWest Farm Credit, Idaho Land Trusts, TechHelp, Idaho Small Business Development Center, and two ag-serving non-profit organizations, FARE Idaho and the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience. Program included six two-hour live sessions -attended by 115 live participants. Recordings and handouts are available on the Idaho Cultivating Success small farm and ranch webpage andon Idaho Cultivating Success YouTube Channel. To date, the webinar recordings have had 225 views on YouTube. Post-webinar evaluations indicated participants gained awareness of resources available to support their farm or ranch and were able to identify 1-2specific actions they would take based upon what they learned in the webinar. To improve women farm operators risk management skills, a six-week Annie's Project 101 farm and ranch management class was offered virtually state-wide. The class focused on management of small- to mid-size farms and ranches engaged in direct marketing. Topics covered the five areas of risk associated with farm and ranch businesses, human, legal, financial, market, and production. Nineteen women farm operators started the course (participated in one or more sessions) and 16 women farm operators participated in all courses sessions and received a course completion certificate. End of course evaluations (56% response rate) indicated 100% of course participants increased their knowledge of resources available to support their farm or ranch and 78% of respondents indicated they anticipated an increase in their farm/ranch profitability as a result of participating int he class. Specific outcomes identified by course participants included: improved communication with farm partners, workers and external service providers, formed an LLC, obtained a nursery license, engaged in new marketing strategies, improved budgeting and expense tracking, actively exploring insurance options. Accomplishments related to Extension Objective 7: Increase the reach and effectiveness of University of Idaho (UI) Extension to deliver farm management programs that provide practical resources to women farm operators with beginning- and small-to-medium-scale operations.? Project team hosted a 1.5 day in-person professional development and planning meeting with 10 University of Idaho Extension Faculty.During the meeting, project research results were presented and discussed in terms of present and future educational programming priorities for small- and mid-size farm operators and women farm operators (note, research results indicated Idaho women farm/ranch operators do not have a strong preference for women-only farm programs).A three-year calendar of skill-based workshop, webinar and in-depth course offering was developed to meet training needs identified through project research and program evaluations.To increase accessibility statewide, most programs will be offered either virtually via live webinars with online classroom support or in a hybrid or blended learning format with onsite educators/facilitators and hands-on activities and content presentations offered statewide and live via Zoom.The new, multi-year course schedule was posted on the Idaho Cultivating Success website and shared with clientele through the Idaho small- and direct farm marketing newsletter.The new course calendar implementation begins December 2024. Accomplishments related to Extension Objectives: 8. Increase agriculture service and technical assistance providers' understanding of the unique needs of women farm operators and the skills providers need to work effectively with women farm audiences and individual clientele and 9. Share best practices and curricula developed with extension and other agricultural educators nationally, thereby increasing the body of resources, educational curricula, and training tools available for understanding and supporting women farm operators. Presented research results and implications for women farm operator educational programming at the National Annie's Project Facilitators' Conference to approximately 75 agricultural educators and technical assistance providers from across the US.Shared project published research papers and fact sheets through the program website and statewide e-newsletters.

Publications

Progress 07/15/22 to 07/14/23

Outputs
Target Audience:In this period the project had multiple audiences, including 1) academic researchers; 2) extension professionals and policy professionals and 3) most importantly, women farmers and ranchers in Idaho.In this period the project had multiple audiences, including 1) academic researchers; 2) extension professionals and policy professionals and 3) most importantly, women farmers and ranchers in Idaho. The academic audience has been targetted through various products including peer-reviewed articles; the extension and professional audience through conference presentations; the farmers through monthly newsletters, podcasts, and other events. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Hosted the Inland Northwest Artisan Grains Experience, a two-day conference and field day elevating artisan grains in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington with an emphasis on the contributions and leadership of women producers and entrepreneurs in artisan grain value-based supply chains. Attended by approximately 75 growers, processors, maltsters, bakers, brewers, distillers, and resource providers. Offered a two-part virtual workshop "Transitioning Land to a New Generation: Introduction to Farm Succession Planning" with 15 live participants, session recordings, and online resources. Led a Mobile Workshop Tour of the women-founded and led Panhandle Farm Corridor during the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals Conference in Coeur d'Alene, ID. Attended by 30 community development professionals from across the US. Three new Idaho extension educators and project assistants became certified Annie's Project facilitators and Real Colors facilitators. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presented at the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals Conference to approximately 25 community development professionals from across the US. Hosted the Inland Northwest Artisan Grains Experience, a two-day conference and field day elevating artisan grains in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington with an emphasis on the contributions and leadership of women producers and entrepreneurs in artisan grain value-based supply chains. Attended by approximately 75 growers, processors, maltsters, bakers, brewers, distillers, and resource providers. Hosted a workshop at the University of Idaho Extension Annual Conference attended by 10 extension educators from the state of Idaho What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Research activities have ended. In the next reporting period, extension activities will include: will host two state-wide offerings of Annie's Project focused on small and mid-sized producers in Idaho and a webinar that explains project research results and implications for Extension and another educational programming. The extension team will develop a publication that demonstrates women's contributions to agricultural sectors and communities in Idaho and identifies women's educational and financial needs.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Our research products directly addressed research objectives 3, 4 & 5 and are now peer reviewed and published. To accomplish extension objectives 6, 7, & 9 we have: Hosted the Inland Northwest Artisan Grains Experience, a two-day conference and field day elevating artisan grains in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington with an emphasis on the contributions and leadership of women producers and entrepreneurs in artisan grain value-based supply chains. Attended by approximately 75 growers, processors, maltsters, bakers, brewers, distillers, and resource providers. Offered a two-part virtual workshop "Transitioning Land to a New Generation: Introduction to Farm Succession Planning" with 15 live participants, session recordings, and online resources. Hosted a workshop at the University of Idaho Extension Annual Conference attended by 10 extension educators from the state of Idaho. Presented at the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals Conference to approximately 25 community development professionals from across the US. Led a Mobile Workshop Tour of the women-founded and led Panhandle Farm Corridor during the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals Conference in Coeur d'Alene, ID. Attended by 30 community development professionals from across the US. Three new Idaho extension educators and project assistants became certified Annie's Project facilitators and Real Colors facilitators. Hosted two regional education and networking events for producers. The Selkirk-Pend Oreille Food Summit focused on growing connections from farm to table in a three-state region of northeast Washington, north Idaho, and northwestern Montana. The program emphasized women's leadership in agricultural enterprises, developing new relationships across local food system enterprises/short food supply chains and farmer-to-farmer networking. The event was attended by approximately 80 growers, retail and restaurant buyers, technical assistance providers and local food advocates. One hundred percent (100%) of participants who completed the program evaluation indicated the event increased their opportunity to network with others and they made beneficial connections during the summit. Ninety-five percent (95%), indicated they would attend a future food summit event. The Palouse-Clearwater Food Summit focused on Planning, Policy and Partnerships across local food systems in southeast Washington and north central Idaho. The program emphasized women's leadership in agricultural enterprises and the development and leadership of farmers markets throughout the region, developing new relationships across local food system enterprises/short food supply chains and farmer-to-farmer networking. The event was attended by approximately 65 growers, retail and restaurant buyers, technical assistance providers and local food advocates. One hundred percent (100%) of participants who completed the program evaluation indicated the event increased their opportunity to network with others, they made beneficial connections during the summit, and they would attend a future food summit event.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Strengthening University of Idaho Extension Programming for Women Farmers and Ranchers: A research-based approach. Conference workshop. Colette DePhelps, Paul Lewin, Mackenzie Lawrence.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Pilgeram, Ryanne, Katherine Dentzman, and Paul Lewin. "Women, race and place in US Agriculture." Agriculture and Human Values (2022): 1-15.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fisher, Monica, Paul A. Lewin, Katherine Dentzman, and Ryanne Pilgeram. "Does farmer sexual orientation influence profitability on US farms? An empirical examination using census of agriculture data." Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy (2023).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Dentzman, Katherine, Ryanne Pilgeram, and Falin Wilson. "Applying the feminist agrifood systems theory (fast) to US organic, value-added, and non-organic non-value-added farms." Agriculture and Human Values (2023): 1-20.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fisher, Monica, Paul A. Lewin, and Ryanne Pilgeram. "Gender differences in the financial performance of US farm businesses: A decomposition analysis using the Census of Agriculture." Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 45, no. 2 (2023): 1233-1253.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals Conference, 2023. Growing Agritourism: Supporting Community Development and Women Farm Operator Success. Conference presentation. Colette DePhelps, Mackenzie Lawrence.
• Type: Websites Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2023 Citation: 3 program webpages (idahowomeninag.org) 500+ page visits

Progress 07/15/21 to 07/14/22

Outputs
Target Audience:In this period the project had multiple audiences, including 1) academic researchers; 2) extension professionals and policy professionals and 3) most importantly, women farmers and ranchers in Idaho. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have done a poster presentation at the University of Idaho Extension Annual Conference attended by approximately 130 extension educators from the state of Idaho. One new Idaho extension educator became a certified Annie's Project facilitator. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We produce an Idaho Women in Ag monthly newsletter. The mailing list includes project focus group participants, women farmers and ranchers operating diverse crop and livestock farms/ranches across Idaho, and technical assistance providers. The newsletter include fact sheets with research outcomes, education programming related to priorities identified by focus group and survey participants including production, marketing, risk management, and agritourism, and provides links to related educational resources. Results are also disseminated through 3 programmatic web pages which can be found at idwomeninag.org. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we plan to utilize survey research to design a grain cropping system educational program including a field day and conference. Program design will be informed by research results with an emphasis on including women experts in planning and on panels and as keynote speakers. Research and extension teams will develop additional extension bulletins featuring research results and recommendations for increasing the financial success of women-operated farms and ranches. Research results will be used to evaluate existing educational program content and delivery with respect to women's educational priorities and needs.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have focused on answering a number of research questions through peer-reviewed publications. In this cycle we have answered Research Objective #3 & #4 with a publication that has a conditional acceptance and Objective #5 through analysis of our survey data of woemn farmers in Idaho.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Fisher, Monica, Paul A. Lewin, and Ryanne Pilgeram. 2021. Farmworkers and the gender wage gap: An empirical analysis of wage inequality in US agriculture. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2022 Citation: Pilgeram, Ryanne, Katherine Dentzman, Paul Lewin. 2022. Women, Race & Place in US Agriculture. Agriculture & Human Values. Forthcoming.
• Type: Other Status: Submitted Year Published: 2022 Citation: B. Karie Boone, Colette DePhelps, Ryanne Pilgeram, Katherine Dentzman, Jennifer Werlin, Mackenzie Lawrence. 2022. Women Farmers on the Rise? Understanding USDA Data-Collection Methods University of Idaho Extension Bulletin1014.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Pacific Sociological Association Meeting, 2022, Understanding the Gendered Wage Gap as it Applies to US Agriculture Ryanne Pilgeram
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Rural Sociology Society Annual Meeting, 2021. A quantitative analysis of how gender relates to farming methods in the US Ryanne Pilgeram and Katherine Dentzman. Virtual
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: University of Idaho Extension Annual Conference, 2022. Idaho Women in Program: supporting the success of Idahos women in agriculture through research, education, and outreach. 2022. Poster presentation. Colette DePhelps, Mackenzie Lawrence, Ryanne Pilgeram, Jennifer Werlin.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fisher, Monica, Paul A. Lewin, Ryanne Pilgeram and Katherine Dentzman. "Does Farmer Sexual Orientation Influence Profitability on U.S. Farms? An Empirical Examination using Census of Agriculture Data."
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fisher, Monica, Paul A. Lewin, and Ryanne Pilgeram. "Gender Differences in the Financial Performance of U.S. Farm Businesses: A Decomposition and Matching Analysis using the Census of Agriculture"

Progress 07/15/20 to 07/14/21

Outputs
Target Audience:In this period the project had multiple audiences, including 1) academic researchers; 2) extension professionals and policy professionals, and 3) most importantly, women farmers and ranchers in Idaho. Changes/Problems:This project faced serious potential setbacks because of the pandemic, but I am happy to say that we were able to find creative solutions that allowed us to stay mostly on our timeline. This year our project goals were to complete our analysis of the 2017 Census of Agriculture and to complete focus groups around the state of Idaho with women involved with agriculture. Because the USDA allows access to the census data only at authorized sites, we has a pre-scheduled visit to Tacoma, WA in mid-March to run our final series of do-files. However, that site, along with all other USDA sites restricted access to their buildings to anyone outside of the agency. Through significant effort, we were able to get remote access to the data. However, it was a very time-consuming process that involved several security clearance interviews and tours of our data analysis facility. Also, because the PI responsible for data analysis on the project (Dr. Paul Lewin) was not a US Citizen and was in the middle of his citizenship process he was not allowed to see our data outputs until after they had been cleared by the USDA--a process that takes 4-6 weeks after the statistical files are run. We are happy to report Dr. Lewin is now a citizen and so can run the data. We were thrilled to get access to the data in August of 2020, but it certainly slowed down our writing and analysis this summer. We have several papers that are largely drafted but are waiting for the data to be released from the USDA to complete. Because of the pandemic, our data analysis was delayed, however, because we have been granted remote access to the data for a year, in the long run, we anticipate significantly more data to analyze and papers to write than we had envisioned. In addition, we had hoped to travel around the state of Idaho conducting focus groups with farmers this fall. Because of the pandemic, we waited longer than I would have liked to decide what modality those focus groups would happen under. Ultimately in August, we decided to do all but one of them as virtual focus groups. We decided to do our focus group with refugees that required translation in person and it was conducted on June 26. We organized and recruit women to attend six virtual focus groups in different communities around our state. Each focus group had an average of five women. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided three professional development opportunities for extension educators. Two opportunities were part of the University of Idaho Cultivating Success in Idaho Series. The "Women Farmers & Ranchers on the Rise in Idaho," training familiarized educators with information about women farmers in Idaho and how to best support them. The second, "Accessing, Understanding, and Using Data from the USDA's Census of Agriculture: Lessons Learned from our Women in Agriculture Research" was a step-by-step demonstration to using the quickstats tool from the USDA Census site. Finally, we presented our work at the Washington Tilth Alliance Conference as a part of a panel discussion with women farmers of color. The panel supported their discussion by offering statistical data to contextualize the experiences of these farmers. Cultivating Success in Idaho Series, 2020. "Women Farmers & Ranchers on the Rise in Idaho," with Ryanne Pilgeram and Katherine Dentzman. Virtual. Washington Tilth Alliance Conference, 2020. "Gender, Race and Farming: An interactive discussion for farmers and researchers" with Ryanne Pilgeram and Katherine Dentzman. Virtual Cultivating Success in Idaho Series, 2021. "Accessing, Understanding, and Using Data from the USDA's Census of Agriculture: Lessons Learned from our Women in Agriculture Research," with Ryanne Pilgeram and Katherine Dentzman. Virtual. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Currently, we are disturbing a monthly newsletter as part of Women in Agriculture Idaho series to women farmers who signed up after taking our survey. This newsletter highlights different aspects of our research to farm women in Idaho and connects them with farming opportunities What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are working on producing a podcast series with women farmers, organizing our presentations and other materials into an easy-to-use website, and we plan to take the data from our analysis to develop our outreach and extension materials and training.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Our project has two long-term goals: 1) Reduced barriers and increased opportunities for achieving financial success and increasing the sustainability of their enterprises for women farm and ranch operators. 2) Increased prosperity of women farm operators, their families, and rural communities. Our project is designed in three phases: quantitative analysis of US Census of agricultural data to explore the mechanisms that may lead to gender differences in farming financial success, followed by focus groups and a survey to explore how our findings related to women farmers in Idaho, followed by extension programming based on the needs of farm and ranch women articulated during our focus groups and surveys. This year we have conducted seven focus groups with women from around the state including women in central Idaho who are largely commodity grain growers, women in Northern Idaho who are primarily run small-scale, value-added farms and traditional ranches, women in Boise who are African refugees. We are currently coding and analyzing these data. In addition, we have surveyed over 700 farm and ranch women in Idaho asking them about their operations, their experiences getting loans and other resources to farm, and what types of extension education they are interested in receiving. We are currently coding and analyzing our focus group and survey data that should allow us to understand what barriers women face in farming and how extension education might reduce those barriers. Our research agenda is on track to accomplish both goals 1 and 2.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Dentzman, Katherine, Pilgeram, Ryanne, Paul Lewin, and Kelsey Conley. 2020. Queer Farms in the 2017 US Census of Agriculture. Society & Natural Resources, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2020.1806421

Progress 07/15/19 to 07/14/20

Outputs
Target Audience:This project has multiple audiences, including 1) academic researchers; 2) extension professionals and policy professionals; and 3) most importantly, farmers and ranchers, specifically women farmers and ranchers. Changes/Problems: We experienced several issues due to COVID. In particular, 1. Annie's Project course offerings, which some of our PIs were planning to attend for fall 2020 are on hold due to COVID-19 programming restrictions and associated health risks and concerns. 2. PI Pilgeram could not present on our research at the Pacific Sociological Association because it was canceled due to COVID. 3. USDA NASS Data Lab Closure a. Regional NASS offices were closed across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two postdoctoral research associates had planned on visiting a data lab at one of these offices to run finalized statistical models. These visits were deemed impossible for the time being by the Washington, D.C. USDA NASS office. b. As an alternative, we applied for and received special permission to access the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture microdata through the University of Chicago's NORC Data Enclave. While this pushes our timeline back several months, it will also enable us to conduct time-consuming and detailed data analysis that may not have otherwise been possible. We also experienced an issue when the NIFA offices were moved to Kansas City: In particular, we were told that the dataset we had intended to use--ARMS data--would be extremely difficult to access due to few people in that office who were evaluating requests for access. Thus, we changed our analysis to The Census of Agriculture data which required some revisions to our coding and variable selection. It also slowed down our first visit for analysis as we reached out to the NIFA and USDA offices to create a plan for data analysis. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?DePhelps and Lawrence attended a two-day Annie's Project facilitator training hosted by the University of Idaho Extension in Twin Falls, Idaho. The training provided them an opportunity to learn more about the educational delivery approaches utilized in Annie's Project women-only agricultural education programs. DePhelps and Lawrence obtained certification as Annie's Project facilitators and will be working with other Idaho Annie's Project facilitators to offer Annie's Project courses in Idaho in 2021 (pending the lifting of COVID-19 programming restrictions). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have been actively writing and publishing in academic journals and submitting to conferences (that we all canceled) to disseminate our results. We have not yet begun our dissemination to our other targetted audiences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we will finish the analysis of the 2017 Census of Agriculture and write up our analysis in a series of journal articles that address research objectives 2-4. In addition, we will use those results to finalize our interview protocols for our focus groups with farmers. Our focus groups will support our efforts toward research objectives 1 and 5. We plan to code and analyze that data by the end of the next reporting period. We plan to have finalized the research objectives by the end of the next reporting period so we can begin to focus on our extension objectives.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The long-term goals of our project are to reduced barriers and increased opportunities for achieving financial success and increasing the sustainability of their enterprises for women farm and ranch operators and to increase the prosperity of women farm operators, their families, and rural communities. In order to accomplish those goals, our project first uses quantitative and qualitative analysis to understand the mechanisms of inequality to then develop programming to help support women farmers become more successful in their work. We have accomplished a great deal towards these research objectives this year despite some setbacks discussed in the "problems" section. Objectives 2-4 are met through statistical analysis of the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Towards these goals, we visited the USDA lab twice to run our statistical analysis. Our final trip to the lab was canceled due to Covid19, however, we have continued to refine our coding to best address research objectives 2-4. We have finalized our coding and have remote access to the data pending, so we should be able to close the loop on objectives 2-4 by mid-October. Using the results from our earlier analysis of the 2017 Census of Agriculture, we have finalized the specific target populations of women producers and locations for our Fall 2020 women producer focus groups and solicited and confirmed support from the Extension educators serving producers in those regions. In addition, our earlier findings allowed us to build toward finalizing our focus group interview protocols. Those focus groups will support our efforts toward research objectives 1 and 5. We plan to close the loop in July 2021. To help support our goals, the project team added and additional Extension P.I. in spring 2020, Karie Boone. Located in southwest Idaho, Boone brings to the team a strong qualitative research background and connections with diverse women farmers, Extension educators, and agricultural technical assistance providers in southwest Idaho. Despite some setbacks due to delayed access to the NIFA and USDA data centers (due to the move to Kansas City and then Covid19), we project is currently meeting the timeline we propose in our application.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Pilgeram, Ryanne, Katherine Dentzman, Paul Lewin, and Kelsey Conley. "How the USDA Changed the Way Women Farmers are Counted in the Census of Agriculture." Choices 35, no. 316-2020-956 (2020).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Katherine Dentzman, Pilgeram, Ryanne, Paul Lewin, and Kelsey Conley. "Queer farmers in the 2017 US Census of Agriculture." Society and Natural Resources. (Revise & Resubmit)
• Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Dentzman, Katherine; Paul Lewin; and Ryanne Pilgeram. 2020. Women Farmers in Idaho Rural Studies Program, University of Idaho
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Falin Wilson, University of Idaho, Undergraduate Research Assistant "Applying FAST Model to the US" April 27.