Most of the time when we hear the term farming, we think of men. But this is not anywhere near the case. Women have been a huge part of the agricultural industry since 1943. 

One standout from these women is Temple Grandin. She is 72 years old and lives in MA, she works to provide humane treatment of livestock. Grandin is also known for many things, including inspiring others in the animal business, and her Ted talks focused on her autism, and teaching kids you can be hard especially with a disability. During college where she majored in animal science, people thought she was crazy, but in reality she was not. To help with her anxiety, she made a contraption called the “Hug Machine”. She would get into it and squeeze herself to calm down. But this contraption was soon a huge project for her. The hug machine turned into a better environment to calm down the livestock before they would get slaughtered. 

According to Drovers.com, “Grandin, living with autism, revolutionized livestock handling by tapping into her ability to see the world in a different way to develop a deeper understanding of animal behavior.“ 

There was also a huge movie made going through her life since she was a young kid. “I thought the movie did a great job capturing the challenges Temple overcame to improve livestock care in food production.”

Like Grandin, there are many women involved in agriculture today. Women run farm businesses, help out, or run their own farm. In our everyday life, women push for their farms to support their family, themselves, and others.

Emily Tolley, former student at Ross High School said,  “I love farming. I love Idaho and potatoes. I am really happy doing this. I get a high off of the crazy long hours, being sleep deprived and finding solutions to problems. I am in charge of everything that goes in the field and how it goes in the field. I also make sure the equipment is running through. . . to meet our yield demand for our crops.”

In a survey sent out to Ross High School students, Christine Alexander, junior, said, “I believe that women should farm because women can do the job just as well as men. They also could help others realize how importing [sic]  farming is.”

Overall women, just like men, serve a huge role in the agriculture business. Some teach us things like Temple Grandin, and some farm for a living. As you venture out of quarantine, visit a local farm near you and learn new things since farming is what makes this world turn.