Women are the largest minority group in agriculture. More than 300,000 women operate farms across the U.S.
The 2007 Census of Agriculture shows that women have a growing presence in U.S. agriculture. Women are running more farms and ranches, operating more land, and producing a greater value of agricultural products than they were five years ago.
Of the 3.3 million U.S. farm operators counted in 2007 Census, 30.2 percent — or more than 1 million — were women. The total number of women operators increased 19 percent from 2002, significantly outpacing the 7 percent increase in the number of farmers overall. The number of women who were the principal operators of a farm or ranch increased by almost 30 percent, to 306,209.
Women are now the principal operators of 14 percent of the nation’s 2.2 million farms.
