How have things changed for women farmers in the last ten years? Are they more visible? Has the percentage of female farmers increased? Are more daughters being considered as successors? Are they getting more respect?
As a dairy farmer who is one of the 13% of female farmers who own their own farm, I'm wondering if things have changed. As an introverted farmer who likes her own company and also writes books, I don't get out much but I'll have a stab at answering those questions.
Ten or eleven years ago, I was involved in the SEWFI (pronounced Sophie) South East Women Farming Ireland group, and our aim in the first year was to increase the representation of women within farming. We were told by various organisations and newspapers that they could never get women to agree to being photographed or interviewed. And yes, it was recognised that men will always say "yes" when asked to be on a panel or a radio interview whereas women will wonder if they have sufficient information to answer questions or have to factor in child-minding or other responsibilities first. However, I'm delighted to say, women rose to the occasion. Women said yes. Female journalists were so supportive (the two Claires in the Farming Independent were particularly wonderful) and featured women in their businesses, on their farms and on panels. As my dad once said to me, probably in 2019, as he handed me the Farming Independent, "there's a woman on the front cover every second week now."
Since then, many more groups have formed. Hannah Quinn Mulligan was instrumental in setting up the Women in Ag Stakeholders group and Mona Donoghue Concannon (currently chairperson) is working tirelessly and displaying endless patience in many of her aims, one of which is to get both partners' names on the 'blue cards' animal passports. Dairy Women Ireland has regional groups offering training and information sessions, webinars, and an annual conference, their fifth conference is on 20th November. There's also a Making Farms Work for Women group based in Mayo as far as I know. These, and other farming groups, are offering training on things such as safety, quad driving, driving with a tractor and trailer, and many other day courses. The courses are usually women only. Why is that important? Because I know my brain is very different to my son's and my husband's for driving machinery, so being amongst other women when learning a new machinery skill is important; otherwise it's like trying to hammer a round peg into a square hole. I've seen at least three conferences advertised for women this October and November, a suitable time of year as things quieten somewhat on most farms for the winter.
2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer in the EU and I do admit that I was initially a tad sceptical as the application and judging processes here in Ireland seemed extremely rushed, as if they had just decided they'd better join in and do something about it. However, it's great to see Carina Roseingrave speaking on several panels and one thing she is campaigning for is maternity leave for farmers, something that is badly needed. And by the way, while I'm on the topic, something for menopausal farmers too ;)
It'd be interesting to know if non-farmers have become more aware of women farming. I've noticed more women driving tractors on the roads around here but I'm probably primed to pay attention. I remember being really pleased to see more women sharing their stories on social media but then having my bubble burst when three visitors to our farm expressed their surprise at seeing me farming (an ESB worker, a guard and a salesperson). I'm tired of hearing the expression 'women are the backbone of Irish farms'. Of course they are, whether they're working off-farm and helping, or working full time on the farm but many people viewed their work as secondary or not as important. I remember a lovely elderly haulier (he brought our finished cattle to the factory sometimes), who often told me he'd heard me talking on the radio, and on this particular day he expressed surprised delight when he saw me crossing the yard carrying full buckets of milk to calves - as if all I did was talk on the radio, bless him.
Last week, there were loads of farming influencers at the Ploughing and on social media. I don't know the gender breakdown and I'm probably only following a few of them, but women were well represented. The Farmers Journal had a front page picture of a woman competing in a ploughing championship, and "This Farming Week" also featured a young female farmer.
There are many workshops and clinics focusing on succession, share farming and leasing now. There seems to be much concern about the increasing age profile of farmers, the dearth of successors within farming families, the often prohibitory cost of getting into farming for those who don't have financial backing or own some land. The "Women Farmer Capital Investment Scheme" which provides female farmers with a 60% grant provided they meet all the criteria (as compared to the male farmer grant of 40%) wasn't overly popular with some but I thought it was a great idea. Positive discrimination is required to bring about some level of equality, and I believe huge numbers of women are doing the "Green Cert" courses to become fully qualified farmers. There's a financial and time cost to doing the courses, and some may argue that it's just for the grant. But even if that was the intention, I think it's great because wives and daughters are becoming much more knowledgeable and can engage in meaningful debates in farming decisions. Farming has become much more complicated, and it's often scary making big decisions so two heads are better than one.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. Are women still hearing "is the boss around?" or are they being viewed as farmers in their own right? What changes have made the most improvements in your circumstances? And have things improved? I haven't heard of an increase in farm ownership amongst women (afaik, it's still 13%) but correct me if I'm wrong.