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United States

Department of

Agriculture

Economic

Research

Service

Rural Developm

Research Report

Number 45

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A Profile of Female

Farmers in America

Judith Z. Kaibacher

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**

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I
A Profile of Female Farmers in America, by Judith Z. Kalbacher. Economic

Development Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture. Rural Development Research Report No. 45.

Abstract

Although the number of U.S. farms is dropping, the number of female farmers is

rising. In 1978, about 128,000, or 5.2 percent of all U.S. farmers, were women.

They tend to run smaller farms and earn less than their male counterparts. They

are also older and more likely to be full owners of the land they farm.

Key words: Female farmers, farm operators, U.S. farmers.

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Vera Banks, Calvin Beale, John Blackledge, and Kathleen

Scholl for their assistance, critical review, and comments. Appreciation is also

extended to Tom Carlin for guidance and suggestions; to David Brown, Bernai

Green, Max Jordan, and Priscilla Salant for constructive comments and review;

to Margaret Butler for statistical assistance; to Deborah Acors for preparing the

manuscript; and to Debra Haugan for editorial assistance.

Cover photo: John Colwell, Grant Heilman Photography.

Washington, D.C. 20250 January 1985
Contents

Page

Summary v

Introduction , 1

Perspective , 1

Number and Location of Female Farmers 2

Characteristics of Farms Operated by Women 3

Land and Tenure of Operator 3

Value of Agricultural Products Sold 4

Type of Farm 5

Characteristics of Female Farmers 7

Age 7

Size of Farnn Households 9

Race 10

Principal Occupation 12

Off-Farm Work 12

Income of Farm Households by Source 13

Assets and Liabilities . 16

Conclusions 18

References 20

Appendix Tables 22

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IV
SUMMARY

Although the number of U.S. farms is dropping, the number of female farmers is

rising. In 1978, about 128,000, or 5.2 percent of all U.S. farmers, were women.

They tend to run smaller farms and earn less than their male counterparts. Also

they are older and more likely to be full owners of the land they farm. This

study, using agricultural census data, finds that:

• The 16 Southern States contain 53 percent of all female-operated farms,

while 26 percent are in the Midwest, compared with 40 percent of maleoperated farms in the South and 42 percent in the Midwest.

• While most male and female farmers are full owners of their land, more

men rent some or all of the land they farm. The high proportion of female

farmers as full owners is consistent with the fact that full ownership has become

associated with moderate or small-scale U.S. farming.

• Income from farm and off-farm sources is lower on most female-operated

farms, and more of them have small volumes of farm-product sales. The average

household income on female-operated farms was just over $16,000 in 1979,

compared with $26,000 on male-operated farms. Also, about 83 percent of all

female farmers reported gross farm sales under $20,000 in 1978, compared with

63 percent of all male farmers.

• Both men and women most often run livestock and cash grain farms.

Women not engaged in livestock or cash grain farming most often run tobacco,

other field crop, fruit and nut, or animal specialty farms (mostly horse breeding).

Men not engaged in livestock and cash grain farming most frequently operate

dairy farms, followed by tobacco and other field crop enterprises.

• The median age for female farmers is 59.0 years, compared with 50.5

years for men. The age difference is partly due to the large number of women

who inherit farms upon their husbands' deaths; as more women enter farming

occupations, their median age should drop.

• Both male and female operators of small-scale farms are more likely than

those running large farms to work off the farm, but women are less likely to

work off the farm than men, regardless of farm size. Husbands on femaleoperated farms are less likely than wives on male-operated farms to work off the

farm.

• Only 37 percent of female operators reported any farm or nonfarm debt

in 1979, compared with 58 percent of male operators. Average debt on all

female-operated farms was $45,000, compared with $84,000 on male-operated

farms.
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

Judith Z. Kalbacher*

Introduction

Nearly 7 million people lived in farm operator

households in 1979, or just over 3 percent of the Nation's population.^ These farm people include about

2.5 million farm operators, 2.1 million spouses, and

2.5 million children and other household membersmost of whom perform a variety of farm functions. As

of 1978, about 128,000, or 5.2 percent of all U.S.

farmers, were women.

This report profiles female farmers, highlighting ways

in which their personal and farm characteristics differ

from those of male farmers. Limited information on

farmers' spouses and other household members is also

provided.

Farm women in the past were associated with traditional duties such as running the household or helping

with chores during busy times. But awareness of the

wide range of farm tasks actually performed by women

has increased.^ Today, more women are involved in

farming as sole or primary operators of their farms or

as full partners or co-managers of enterprises primarily

run by their husbands or other family members. These

changes are reflected in the growing literature on farm

women.^ Early studies focused on farm women as

wives and homemakers, but emphasis has now shifted

to their involvement in farm chores such as recordkeeping, decisionmaking, and management. Although

research on women in farm operation and management roles is still limited, data from the 1978 Census of

Agriculture (the first to publish comprehensive data on

farms by sex of operator) and the followup Farm

Finance Survey in 1979 permit the first and most re-

*Gfographer, Econfjmic Devcloprruint Üivisic;n, tcorumiic.

Rosearch Service, USDA.

'r3aí¿j in this report are taken largely frfjrri fjublished ancJ unpublished tabulations rjf the 197B agricultural (.ensus (24, 2'jj,

Italif.i/ed numbers in parenthesi?s refer to items in the Referenci.'S.

^f arm women's partie.ipatifjn in varirjus farm tijsks is examinefj in

(UK IH).

'An historical fjerspective anrJ extensive literature review <ire containffd in (2, I'i). Tor an hisffjrical analysis and ferriinisi p{'rspei,tive of

women's invfjivement in agricultural [jrodurtifjn, see IM}. Major

biblifjgraphies on farm women inilude (6, I !}.

cent detailed description of that part of the farm sector

run by women. The agricultural census provides

statistics on the Nation's farms and ranches. Information focuses largely on farm characteristics, but includes some data on farm operators. As part of the

agricultural census. Farm Finance Survey data are collected to obtain detailed financial and related Information on the farm operation and household. This source

provides additional social and economic data not

elsewhere available on farm operators by sex, as well

as limited characteristics of their spouses and

households.

Perspective

Like their male counterparts, the 128,000 U.S. female

farmers own or lease farmland, make most of the dayto-day decisions about the farm operation, and perform or oversee farmwork, according to the Census.

They farm for varied reasons, which commonly involve

making a living, independence of running one's own

business, love of the land, and enjoyment of working

with animals. According to one female farmer, "It is

not really the act of farming that makes it worthwhile,

but rather what it does for you. Working and owning

land gives you something to take pride in, a sense of

self-esteem. Farming is a way of life that gives you a

closeness with nature and feeling of freedom."

Not all farmers are equally affected by developments

in agriculture."^ To reduce the likelihood of creating

programs which are insensitive to the needs of minority segments of the farm sector, public policymakers

and firms conducting business with farmers need to

consider those who may not have successfully communicated their interests. Female farmers differ from

their male counterparts in some important ways and

face a different set of problems as a result. In some

cases, these problems limit their chances of survival in

farming or at least make survival more difficult. Identifying female farmers and their farms and comparing

'^Detailed analysis oí major trends in agriculture is presented in {16,

22). Por the current situ.Jtion in the production and financial structure of U.S. farming, see {i\).
Judith Z. Kalbâcher

them with the majority male operator population can

lead to a fuller understanding of women's problems as

agricultural producers.

One particularly pressing problem for female farmers is

establishing credibility as farmers. Because of the

public's reluctance to deal with inexperienced farmers,

female operators may encounter obstacles in marketing their products, obtaining credit, hiring farmworkers, or leasing additional farmland. Women not

only face the physical rigor and stress associated with

operating a farm, but must also prove themselves to a

farm community unaccustomed to thinking of women

as agricultural producers. Hence, this research will

contribute to a greater awareness of women's role in

the agricultural community and economy.

Although changes in Federal inheritance tax laws make

it financially easier for farmers (especially farm women)

to keep their farms after their spouses' deaths, State

laws still vary with respect to taxes and property

rights.^ Thus, farm women need to establish their legal

status and involvement on the farm to facilitate their

assumption of these and various other aspects of the

farm operation. Those women with higher visibility

and greater involvement in farming with their husbands will, upon widowhood, have less trouble establishing credibility as independent farmers and probably

encounter fewer problems conducting their businesses.

Another consideration is that because of physical differences related to their sex and generally older age,

farm women may constitute a specialized market for

companies which supply goods and services to farmers. Companies could make farm equipment easier to

handle or bag supplies in lighter weight packages, for

example.

New concerns may.surface as more becomes known

about women in farm operation and management

roles. Since this report identifies ways in which female

farmers differ from their male counterparts, it should

prove useful in determining farm women's specialized

needs in program development.

Number and Location of Female Farmers

Agricultural census data indicate that more women are

becoming involved in farming as sole or primary

^The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-34) eliminated

Federal estate taxes on the transfer of a farm to a surviving spouse.

operators of farms. Changing attitudes about women's

roles in general make women more likely to be identified as farmers than as unpaid family laborers as was

the case a decade ago. Reporting procedures, however, still keep the number of female farm operators

understated in the Census of Agriculture, the most

comprehensive source of information on the agricultural economy.^ Most farm wives do some farmwork

and many fully share the responsibility of running the

farm with their husbands, but agricultural census procedures designate only one person per farm as official

operator. Farm couples make this designation, and in a

husband and wife arrangement, the husband is usually

selected. Although the agricultural census does not

collect information on all women engaged in farming

activities, data on those who operate farms are provided. The 1978 Census of Agriculture, the first to

publish data on farms by sex of operator, found that

5.2 percent of the Nation's farms were operated by

women. These women have primary responsibility for

running their farms, many operating farms alone. They

may be widows or have husbands who work off the

farm or are retired.

Other sources show that the number of female farmers

is increasing. Decennial population censuses, the only

historical data available with breakdowns by sex,

define farmers and managers to include all persons

principally employed as farmers or farm managers

during the reference week, regardless of operator

status. This category excludes persons with secondary

jobs on farms, many small and part-time farmers who

also have off-farm employment. This census found that

women employed principally as farmers or farm managers increased from about 3 to 10 percent of the total

between 1950 and 1980. The greatest gain occurred

since 1970, when women accounted for just 5 percent

of the total. The doubling of that percentage between

1970 and 1980 represents an increase from 71,000 to

slightly over 127,000 female farmers and farm managers. In comparison, the number of male farmers and

farm managers fell from about 1.4-to 1.2 million over

the same period.

Slightly more than 50 percent of all female-operated

farms are located in the South, largely in Texas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, according to the agricultural

census (table 1 and app. table 1). Only 26 percent are

^For a broader discussion of the classification of women as farmers,

see (7 7).
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

in the Midwest. In contrast, farms operated by men

are more evenly distributed betw^een the Midwest (42

percent of the male total) and the South (40 percent).

The Northeast and West together contain only about

18 percent of the Nation's farms.

Women also operate the highest percentage of all

farms in the South and the lowest in the Midwest. At

the State level, this percentage ranges from a high of

13 percent in Hawaii and 10 percent in Florida and

South Carolina, to a low of 2 percent in Minnesota,

North Dakota, and Iowa.

There are more female farmers in the South because

of:

• Past agricultural practices (southern women

have always been actively involved in farming, historically as laborers in cotton and tobacco fields {14));

• Racial composition (a somewhat higher percentage of black and other minority race farmers than

white farmers are women and minority farmers are

most often located in the South);

• The generally greater propensity for older people

to live in rural settings in the South (nearly half of all

women operating farms, and over half of those located

in the South are 60 years or older);

• The relative importance of livestock and tobacco

farming (activities more common among female than

male farmers); and

Table 1—Geographic distribution of female farm operators,

by age and race, 1978

Area Total

Percentage

of each

area's total

Percentage

over 60

years of

Percentage

black and

farm minority

operators age races

Number —Percent—

United States 128,170 5.2 47.5 6.0

Northeast 8,852 5.9 37.6 .5

Midwest 33,811 3.3 45.0 .9

South 68,470 6.7 52.2 9.0

West 17,037 5.9 38.6 7.4

Source: {25 and unpublished data from the 1978 Census of

Agriculture).

• Availability of off-farm jobs (southern farm

husbands are more likely than husbands outside the

South to work off the farm, with their wives running

the farm).

Characteristics of Farms Operated by

Women

Farms operated by women differ from those operated

by men (table 2). Women usually run relatively smallscale operations in terms of acreage and value of

agricultural products sold. The majority of both male

and female farmers are full owners of their land.

However, comparatively more men rent some or all of

the land they farm. Livestock and cash grain enterprises are the most common farm types among both

men and women.

Land and Tenure of Operator

Forty-five percent of the Nation's total land area, over

a billion acres, is farmland. Female farmers control 4

percent of this land. They own 31 million acres, rent

or lease an additional 10 million acres from others,

and rent or lease 4 million acres to others. Farms

operated by women are usually smaller than those

operated by men, averaging 285 acres compared with

423 acres for men (table 2). Thirty-nine percent of

female-operated farms are less than 50 acres in size

and just 8 percent have more than 500 acres. Twentyseven percent of male-operated farms have fewer than

50 acres, and 16 percent are over 500 acres. Femaleoperated farms are smaller than male-operated units in

all regions, but the average size of farm operated by

women is largest in the West, which contains a disproportionate share of large commercial farms.

The amount of land per farm and the value of agricultural products produced vary greatly by tenure of

operator. Operator tenure reflects ownership interest

in the land farmed and is commonly summarized by

three groupings: full owners own all the land they

operate, part owners own some and rent the remainder of their land, and tenants rent all their land or

work on shares for others. Because the cost of land

may be prohibitive, renting or leasing additional

farmland has become a common way for farmers to

enlarge their operations. Partly as a result of this

development, the part-owner land tenure arrangement

accounts for a disproportionately large share of all
Judith Z. Kâlbacher

farmland and agricultural sales. Part-owner operations

have become increasingly associated with commercial

farming; full ownership, once considered the ''ideal''

for a farming operation, is now associated with

moderate or small-scale farming (7), Tenant farms are

also larger and have greater product sales than fullowner operations:

U.S. farms by tenure of operator, 1978

Item Full Part

owners owners

Tenants

Farms (percent)

Farmland (percent)

Average farm size

(acres)

Average value of

agricultural products

sold (dollars)

58.5

30.6

205

28.7

57,1

780

12,6

12.4

384

28,135 73,530 46,731

Nearly 80 percent of female farmers are full owners of

their land; only 20 percent rent any of the land they

operate (table 2). Men operate comparatively fewer

full-owner farms and more part-owner and tenant

farms. Although the proportion of farms in each tenure

category varies geographically, these same basic patterns exist in all four regions.

Part-owner female farmers also tend to run the largest

farms with the greatest product sales, followed by

tenants (table 3). Regardless of tenure status, however,

the value of agricultural products sold is generally

lower on female than male operations.

More female than male farmers may be full owners

because female farmers generally are older7 Age, in

fact, explains many differences in farm characteristics.^

Older farmers, regardless of sex, generally reduce their

farming activities and are not likely to rent additional

land. Thus, they are more likely to be full owners of

their land, run smaller operations, and receive lower

''The median age of female farmers is just under 60, which will be

used as a basis for separating the group into younger and older components. The median for male farmers is just over 50 years.

^A recent report based on data from a 1978 USDA survey of

farmland owners, which include owners of farmland regardless of

operator status, also notes the importance of age in terms of

farmland ownership (7).

farm incomes—all typical of female farmers. Only 16

percent of the women age 60 and over, compared

with 27 percent of those under age 60, rent any farmland from others (table 3). Accordingly, the proportion

of full owners is higher for the older group.

Female farmers are more likely than their male

counterparts to rent some of their land to other

farmers (19 percent compared with 11 percent). The

practice of renting farmland to others is especially attractive to older retired and semi-retired farmers as a

means of supplementing retirement income. Twentythree percent of female farmers over 60 rent some

land to other farmers, compared with about 15 percent of younger female farmers. The older group accounts for 60 percent of the farmland rented to others

by female farmer landlords.

Differences in farm size and product sales between

older and younger female farmers are shown in table

3. The larger average farm owned by older women

may reflect the inheritance of relatively large holdings.

The average values of land and buildings and agricultural sales show that younger female farmers are more

production oriented than their older counterparts.

Value of Agricultural Products Sold

Value of agricultural products sold, widely used to

measure agricultural output, relates to gross market

value of all farm product sales before taxes and production expenses in the reporting year. Farms are

commonly classified by sales to form groups of similar

size and characteristics for analytical purposes. As

shown in table 2, farms operated by women are concentrated in lower sales classes. About 83 percent of

female-operated farms reported less than $20,000 in

gross farms sales in 1978; only 63 percent of maleoperated farms fell into this smaller farm category.^

Conversely, about 22,000 female farmers reported

sales over $20,000,

Comparatively more female- than male-operated farms

are in lower sales classes nationwide, although the

distribution varies geographically. For both males and

females, the proportion of larger farms is greatest ¡n

the Midwest; smaller farms are most dominant in the

South,

^$20,000 worth of agricultural sales is used in this report as the

dividing line between large and small farming operations.
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

Table 2—Selected characterrstlcs of farm operators, by region and sex, 1978

Item

United States Northeast Midwest South West

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

Number

Farms 2,350,472 128,170 140,294 8,852 993,912 33,811 946,834 68,470 269,432 17,037

Average size of farm (acres) 423 285 170 114 360 241 314 226 1,166 701

Percent

Operators by tenure:^

Full owners 57.5 78.7 61.8 78.9 52.0 76.8 61.0 80.5 63.0 74.8

Part owners 29.6 13.1 30.1 15.5 33.2 14.2 27.0 11.7 25.6 15.5

Tenants 12.9 8.2 8.1 5.6 14.9 9.0 12.0 7.8 11.4 9.7

Type of farm: 1

Cash grain 24.5 13.9 8.3 6.0 40.5 30.4 13.7 8.7 12.2 6.4

Cotton 1.3 .8 — — — — 2.8 1.3 1.4 .7

Tobacco 5.6 8.6 .4 .2 .6 1.2 13.2 15.4 — —

Other field crops 5.5 6.0 14.7 16.4 4.0 6.6 4.5 4.1 10.3 7.4

Vegetable and melon 1.4 1.4 4.5 4.1 .8 1.0 1.4 1.0 2.4 20.1

Fruit and nut 3.5 5.5 5.2 6.3 .9 1.4 2.2 3.7 16.9 20.1

Livestock 41.7 45.4 25.0 26.0 36.8 41.2 49.7 51.0 40.2 41.2

Dairy 7.0 3.9 25.3 12.7 9.4 7.2 2.6 1.6 3.8 1.7

Poultry 2.0 3.5 3.0 5,3 .9 1.3 3.2 4.7 1.3 1.8

Animal specialty 1.9 4.7 2.8 10.0 1.3 3.8 1.5 2.9 4.8 10.9

Fiorticulture 1.3 2.4 4.4 6.2 .6 1.3 1.2 2.0 2.3 4.4

General 4.3 4.0 6.4 6.5 4.3 4.6 4.0 3.6 4.5 3.3

Value of agricultural products sold: 1

$40,000 or more 24.4 9.4 26.7 10.0 32.0 11.2 15.4 7:9 26.9 11.7

$20,000 to $39,999 12.6 7.7 10.7 7.2 17.0 11.8 8.7 5.6 11.2 8.4

$10,000 to $19,999 12.6 11.0 9.5 8.9 14.4 15.0 11.6 9.3 10.9 11.1

$2,500 to $9,999 26.4 33.9 24.2 28.1 22.0 34.9 32.3 35.0 22.8 30.5

Less than $2,500 24.0 38.0 28.9 45.8 14.5 27.2 32.0 42.3 28.3 38.3

— = Zero or a percentage which rounds to less than 0.1.

^Excludes 2,268 male-operated and 34 female-operated abnormal farms (institutional farms, experimental and research farms, and Indian

reservations).

Source: (25).

The differences in average nnarket value of products

sold, value of land and buildings, and number of acres

per farm indicate that female-operated farms with sales

of $20,000 or more are significantly more production

oriented than those in lower sales classes (table 4).

These larger operations accounted for only 17 percent

of all female-operated farms in 1978, but for 80 percent of female-produced items going to market.

Data on female-operated farms by sales classes clearly

show the effects of tenure arrangements. A much

higher proportion of women who operate large farms

are part owners or tenants, while more women whose

farms are in the lower two sales classes are full

owners. Full owners generally have fairly small operations, and many full owners work part time or are

semi-retired. This finding is supported by the greater

proportion of women of retirement age or older who

operate farms in the lower sales classes and the

relatively high proportion of these small-scale farmers

who have off-farm employment.

Type of Farm

Value of sales data are used to classify farms by type

based on the importance of various commodities pro-
Judith Z. Kaibacher

Table 3—Selected characteristics of femafe farm operators, by tenure and age, 1978

Unit

Tenure of operator Age of operator

Item Full Part Tpnant«; Under 60 years

owners owners 60 years and over

Farms No. 100,822 16,823 10,525 67,332 60,838

Average farm size Acres 178 930 285 263 311

Average value of land and buildings^ Dollars 119,833 335,194 160,328 154,860 149,053

Average value of agricultural products sold do. 14,126 39,658 19,859 20,119 15,545

Land rented by operator:

Rent or lease land from others Percent .3 100.0 100.0 26.5 16.2

Rent or lease land to others do. 21.4 11.2 5.6 14.6 23.3

Tenure of operator:

Full ou^ners do. 100.0 NA NA 73.7 84.1

Part owners do. NA 100.0 NA 16.1 9.8

Tenants do. NA NA 100.0 10.2 6.1

NA = Not applicable.

^Data are based on a sample of farms.

Source: {25 and unpublished data from the 1978 Census of Agriculture).

Table 4—Selected characteristics of female farm operators,

by value of agricultural products sold, 1978

Value! of agricuh:ural

products sold

Item Unit Less than $2,500 to $20,000

$2,500 $19,999 or more

Farms No. 48,692 57,531 21,947

Average size of farm Acres 88 186 984

Average value of land

and buildings^ Dollars 76,034 121,920 394,593

Average value of

agricultural products

sold do. 1,130 7,357 83,022

Tenure of operator:

Full owners Percent 85.2 79.4 62.2

Part owners do. 6.6 12.8 28.5

Tenants do. 8.2 7.8 9.3

Age of operator:

Under 60 years do. 52.5 50.0 59.3

60 years and over do. 47.5 50.0 40.7

65 years and over do. 35.3 35.8 24.9

Median age Years 59 60 57

^Data are based on a sample of farms.

Source: {25 and unpublished data from the 1978 Census of

Agriculture).

duced JÔ According to these data, a large share of both

men and women specialize in livestock farming (table

2). This farm type constitutes 42 percent of all farms

operated by men, 45 percent of those run by women,

and is by far the single leading type. Although the

relative importance of farm type varies from region to

region, livestock farms are most common in all

regions.

The second largest farm class is cash grain. This type,

largely concentrated in the Midwest, accounts for

about 25 percent of all farms operated by men and 14

percent of those operated by women. Women not engaged in livestock or cash grain farming most often run

tobacco, other field crop, fruit and nut, or animal

specialty farms (mostly horse breeding). On the other

hand, men not engaged in livestock and cash grain

farming most frequently operate dairy farms, followed

by tobacco and other field crop enterprises.

Farm types vary among female farmers (table 5). The

percentage operating livestock farms, for instance, is

greater among women who are older, full owners of

their land, and run smaller operations. Cash grain

ioSee "Definitions and Explanations" in Appendix A of the 1978

Census of Agriculture {25),
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

farming is more common among part owners and

tenants, and becomes more prevalent with increasing

farm sales. There is no distinguishable age difference in

the likelihood of operating a cash grain farm. Although

only a relatively small number of women operate dairy

farms, such farms tend to be more common among

part-owner and larger operations. The greatest difference by age among female farmers is in operation

of animal specialty farms, about 90 percent of which

are horse breeding and other equine establishments.

Overall, larger farms operated by women have the

most diverse distribution by type, with cash grain,

dairy, and poultry farms predominant. Livestock farming, on the other hand, clearly dominates small-scale

farming among women.

Farm types depend on soil type and quality, moisture,

climate, and other factors associated with producing

different farm products; operator experience and

preference; and existing agricultural activity. This last

factor especially pertains to women, many of whom

inherit farms from their husbands or other family members and may be locked into an established operation.

Data collected in the 1979 Farm Finance Survey on

how farmers acquired their land show that women inherited a significantly greater proportion of their

farmland than did men. Forty-three percent of the land

owned by female farmers who reported how they obtained their land was inherited or acquired as a gift,

compared with just 16 percent for males. Thus, a large

proportion of female farmers may have inherited not

only the land they operate but also the type of activity

in which they engage.

Characteristics of Female Farmers

In comparison with their male counterparts, female

farmers are usually older, belong to smaller households, are more likely to be of a minority race, and

have a lower economic status.

Age

Farmers in general are older than their nonfarm

counterparts and women who farm are even older

than men. Opportunities for potential young farmers

are limited by the cost of getting started in farming and

the availability of good farmland. Also, because of the

nature of farming, older operators often reduce their

activities and farm part time, thus delaying full retirement. This practice limits the number of farming opportunities for younger people who desire to become

farm operators.

Table 5—Type of farms operated by females, by tenure, value of agricultural products sold, and age, 1978

Ternure of operator Value of agricultura! products sold Age of operator

Type of farm Full Part Tenants Less than $2,500 to $20,000 Under 60 years

owners owners $2,500 $19,999 or more 60 years and over

Number

Farm 100,822 16,823 10,525 48,692 57,531 21,947 67,332 60,838

Percent

Cash grain 12.2 19.6 21.7 8.3 16.6 19.5 13.2 14.7

Cotton .6 1.6 1.6 .2 .8 1.9 .7 .9

Tobacco 8.5 6.8 11.7 8.2 10.0 5.4 7.2 10.0

Other field crops 6.4 5.2 3.7 7.4 6.2 2.6 5.9 6.2

Vegetable and melon 1.4 1.3 1.5 1.2 1.5 1.2 1.6 1.1

Fruit and nut 6.5 1.6 2.3 5.8 4.6 7.1 5.1 5.9

Livestock 46.8 42.5 36.8 52.0 46.8 26.9 42.1 49.1

Dairy 3.1 9.0 2.9 .4 2.8 14.4 4.5 3.2

Poultry 3.7 1.7 4.1 2.2 .9 13.2 4.5 2.3

Animal specialty 4.2 6.1 7.4 5.8 4.7 2.0 8.1 .9

Horticulture 2.6 .7 2.8 1.7 2.8 2.8 3.1 1.6

General 4.1. 3.8 3.4 6.7 2.2 2.9 4.0 4.0

Source: {25 and unpublished data from the 1978 Census of Agriculture).
Judith Z. Kaibacher

Comparison of age distributions shows that female farmers as a group are much older than male farmers—a

higher percentage of women are in the over-55

categories and a lower percentage are in each of the

younger categories (fig. 1). The age structure of farm

women is undoubtedly affected by the large number

who inherit their farms and become operators after

their husbands die, usually late in life. Life expectancy

in the United States is currently 7.4 years longer for

women than for men (3 7). Added to a 2.2-year difference in their median age at first marriage, a wife

can expect to survive her husband by nearly 10 years

[30), Although recent marital data on female farmers

are not available, a study of persons receiving farm

self-employment income—a group basically synonymous with farm operators—found that half of the

women and just 2 percent of the men were widowed,

and that these women were also much older than

their male counterparts (1).

Regardless of region, female farmers are usually older

than their male counterparts, with the greatest difference in the South and Midwest (table 6). The

median age of southern female farmers is 60.7 years,

compared with 57.0 for those in other regions. This

finding, together with data on farms by value of sales,

supports the theory that upon retirement southern

women are more likely to stay on their farms and continue farming on a part-time, small-scale basis. The

geographic distribution of female-operated small-scale

farms (those with less than $20,000 of agricultural sales

annually) shows that over half are located in the

Figure 1

Farm Oporators by Ago and Sex, 1978

operators

SFama 1 a

operators

Under

25 years

45-54

years

55-64

years

6 5 years

and ove r

Age

Sou rce : (25)
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

Table 6—Age distribution of farm operators, by region and sex, 1978

Age

United States Northeast Midwest South

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

West

Male Female

All ages

Under 25 years

25 to 34 years

35 to 44 years

45 to 54 years

55 to 64 years

65 years and over

Median age

Number

2,350,472 128,170 140,294 8,852 993,912 33,811 946,834 68,740 269,432 17,037

3.3

13.4

20.0

24.3

23.6

15.5

50.5

1.4

6,6

11.8

19.5

27.0

33.8

59.0

2.0

12.9

21.8

25.4

23.1

14.8

50.2

1.3

9.4

19.1

22.1

23.4

24.6

54.1

4.4

14.9

19.9

24.0

23.4

13.4

Years

49.5

1.9

7.0

12.4

19.6

27.8

31.4

58.3

2.7

12.0

19.5

24.0

23.6

18.1

51.6

1.0

5.1

9.5

18.8

27.5

38.1

60.7

2.0

12.8

21.1

25.5

24.1

14.5

50.5

2.1

10.5

15.8

20.5

25.4

25.6

55.4

Source: {25).

South. Small-scale farms account for 87 percent of all

female-operated southern farms, 54 percent of which

are run by women 60 or older. In other regions,

however, a majority are run by younger women:

Female small-scale operators by age, 1978

Region Under age 60 60 and over

United States

Northeast

Midwest

South

West

54,328 51,895

4,605 2,719

13,900 12,140

27,329 31,918

8,494 5,118

Data presented earlier suggested that some differences

in farm characteristics may be more closely related to

the age rather than the sex of the operator. For example, women over 60 years old were less likely than

those under 60 to rent additional farmland; the incidence of full ownership was correspondingly greater

among the older group. Older female farmers accounted for a disproportionately large share of the

farmland rented to others by female farmer landlords.

While the majority of older and younger female

farmers ran farms with fairly low sales, farms operated

by older women were even more concentrated in the

lowest sales categories.

The average age of female farmers should gradually

become younger, as more women choose farming as a

career. The number of young women receiving selfemployment income from farming has already increased. Between 1970 and 1980, the median age of

women self-employed in farming declined from 56.2 to

46.5 years; the proportion under age 35 increased

from 11 to 21 percent of the total {32, 33). In addition,

agricultural colleges reported substantial increases

during the seventies in the enrollment of womenmany in production-related courses (4, 5, 72). Also,

because of changes in inheritance tax laws making it

easier for farm widows to keep their farms, more

young widows can now economically make careers in

farming (9). These developments, the wider acceptance in society as a whole of women in nontraditional

careers, and improved availability of credit to women

should contribute to an increase in the number of

young women entering farming during their prime

labor force ages.

Size of Farm Households

Farm households account for about 3 percent of all

U.S. households. They are about average in size with

2.94 members, compared with 2.78 members nationally

(27). Farm households are likely to include the farm

operator, the operator's spouse, and in many cases a

child or one other household member. However,

households on female-operated farms are usually

smaller than those on male-operated farms (table 7).
Judith Z. Kaibacher

Table 7—Size of farm operator households, by sex of operator and value of agricultural products sold, 1979

Male-operated farms Female-operated farms

Item Total Less than $20,000 Total Less than $20,000

1 yjiai $20,000 or more $20,000 or more

Number

Households 2,232,308 1,350,336 881,972 121,917 95,965 25,952

Persons in households 6,642,427 3,769,178 2,873,249 281,633 212,684 68,949

Average household size 2.98 2.79 3.26

Percent

2.31 2.22 2.66

Farm households by size:

One person 14.8 17.9 9.9 39.5 43.4 25.0

Two persons 35.1 36.8 32.5 28.0 27.2 30.9

Three persons 17.5 16.8 18.6 14.8 13.0 21.2

Four persons 16.4 14.9 18.5 8.9 7.7 13.5

Five persons 9.3 8.0 11.4 3.9 4.2 2.7

Six persons 3.9 3.1 5.2 2.2 2.2 2.3

Seven persons or more 2.9 2.3 3.8 2.7 2.2 4.3

Source: {24 and unpublished data from the 1979 Farm Finance Survey).

The smaller female-operator household size reflects

the relatively low proportion of female farmers with

husbands (only 65 percent of the women compared

with 90 percent of the men report having a spouse) or

children (for every 10 households there are only 4

members under 16 years of age; the comparable figure

for male-operator households is 7). Female-farmers'

older age structure accounts for most of these

differences.

The distribution of farms by household size indicates

that women are more likely than men to live alone—

nearly 40 percent of female farmers but just 15 percent

of the men are in single-person households.^^ Male

farmers most often have two people in their households, but three or even four members are not uncommon. Although many female farmers live in twoperson households, larger units are not characteristic.

Household size generally increases with farm size, but

even on larger farms there are fewer household members on female-run operations (table 7). One implication of the smaller average household size is that fewer

people are on hand to perform farmwork. Female

farmers, however, are no more likely to hire farm

^^Single-person households may include some married persons

with spouse absent.

workers to compensate for the lower number of

household members. This finding is consistent with the

relatively low output on most farms operated by

women and the less labor-intensive activities in which

they may engage.

Race

Female farmers are more prevalent among black and

other minority race farmers (10 percent of all minority

farmers) than among white farmers (5 percent of all

white farmers). This finding is partly due to differences

in marital status—black and other minority women are

less likely than white women to be married and living

with their husbands. Recent marital statistics on female

farmers by race are not available, but related data on

farm residents show that in 1979, 45 percent of black

and other minority farm women were married with

husband present, compared with 68 percent of white

women (28). Because relatively few of their husbands

are present, more minority women are officially

designated operators. Long-term racial differences may

also be involved. Black farm women (who constitute

74 percent of all minority female farmers) commonly

worked in the fields during times of slavery and

sharecropping, so their performing farmwork has

always been widely accepted. The early activities of

white farm women were more restricted by tradition

to the farm household (74).

10
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

Despite a high representation of women among black

and other minority farmers, the majority are white

(table 8). Minority women account for only 6 percent

of all female farmers,, while females of Spanish origin,

who may be of any race, account for 1 percent. In

comparison, minority males account for just 3 percent

of male farmers.

As a result of the decline in farm numbers, minorities

account for an ever-decreasing share of the Nation's

farmers. Technological progress placed small farmers

in general at a competitive disadvantage, and many

with marginal operations, including a disproportionately large share of minority farmers, left farming. There

were nearly a million minority farmers in 1920, accounting for 15 percent of all farmers; by 1978 the

number had fallen to 80,000, just over 3 percent of

the total (29).

Blacks have been most affected by the decrease in

minority-operated farms over time, but have remained

the largest minority farm group. Although other

minorities have made relative gains because of lower

rates of farm loss, their numbers are still significantly

lowerJ2 jyg^ Qygr 28 percent of all minority farmers

are of races other than black: only 2,000 women and

21,000 men make up this group.

Three-fourths of ail minority farmers live in the South,

where they account for 6 percent of all male farmers

and 9 percent of female farmers. This concentration is

largely an extension of past geographic patterns. Nine

of every 10 minority farmers in the South are black,

and black farmers have always been disproportionately

located in the South (table 8). Other minority groups

are more important in other regions. Asians and Pacific

Islanders are heavily concentrated in the West, where

they constitute the largest minority farm component.

American Indians are more geographically dispersed

than other minority groups, although over half live in

the South. These regional patterns exist among both

male and female farmers, although minority women

are somewhat more concentrated in the South.

^^A discussion of minority-operated farms is presented in (20). Concern over the drastic decline in black-operated farms is summarized

in a recent report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (2 7).

Table 8—Racial distribution of farm operators, by region and sex, 1978

Item

United States Northeast Midwest South West

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

All races

Number

2,350,472 128J70 140,294 8,852 993,912 33,811 946,834 68,470 269,432 17,037

White 2,278,305 120,421 139,709 8,811 989,919 33,505 891,648 62,321 257,029 15,784

Black and other 72,167 7,749 585 41 3,993 306 55,186 6,149 12,403 1,253

Black 51,549 5,722 263 24 1,582 138 49,115 5,501 589 59

American Indian 7,466 881 111 7 1,446 104 4,020 503 1,889 267

Asian and Pacific Islander 7,736 409 109 4 232 29 206 24 7,189 352

All other races 5,416 737 102 6 733 35 1,845 121 2,736 575

All races 100.0 100.0 100.0

Percent

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

White 96.9 94.0 99.6 99.5 99.6 99.1 94.2 91.0 95.4 92.6

Black and other 3.1 6.0 .4 .5 .4 .9 5.8 9.0 4.6 7.4

Black 71.4 73.8 45.0 58.5 39.6 45.1 89.0 89.5 4.7 4.7

American Indian 10.3 11.4 19.0 17.1 36.2 34.0 7.3 8.2 15.2 21.3

Asian and Pacific Islander 10.7 5.3 18.6 9.8 5.8 9.5 .4 .4 58.0 28.1

All other races 7.5 9.5 17.4 14.6 18.4 11.4 3.3 2.0 22.1 45.9

Source: {25 and unpublished data from the 1978 Census of Agriculture).
Judith Z. Kaibacher

Principal Occupation

Information on the principal occupation of farm

operators is widely used to separate full-time from

part-time farmers. Those farmers who report that 50

percent or more of their worktime is spent farming are

considered principally employed in farming. For male

and female farmers, this designation is closely related

with farm size, measured by value of agricultural sales,

as shown for 1978:

Operators principally employed in farming

Sex

Percent of operators with

agricultural sales—

Total Less than $20,000 $20,000 or more

Percent

Male

Female

53.8

49.3

35.0

43,7

85.6

76.4

Overall, female farmers are somewhat less likely than

male farmers to report farming as their principal occupation, but this differs by size of operation. On

small-scale farms, men are less likely to be principally

employed in farming, but on larger operations are

more likely than women to be so employed. The number of women principally employed in farming is

probably affected by the large number of older female

farmers, many of whom may consider themselves

retired and do not have other work. Farmers are most

likely to report principal employment in farming after

age 65, but even then the likelihood is still lower for

women (56 percent) than for men (72 percent),

Off-Farm Work

Off-farm work has become increasingly important as a

source of income to farmers. The average farmer today

is twice as likely as his or her counterpart of 50 years

ago to work off the farm.^^ Many have spare-time jobs

to supplement their farm income, but others are employed primarily in nonfarm jobs and farm only on a

part-time basis. Earlier research found off-farm work

i^ln 1978, about 58 percent of those reporting had some off-farm

work. In 1929, the first year for which data are available, 30 percent

reported off-farm work (26).

most prevalent among operators of small farms, those

living in the South, and those under 45 years of age

(3). More recent data from the Census of Agriculture

and the Farm Finance Survey also support these

findings (24, 25).

Patterns of off-farm work among female farmers differ

from those among male farmers. Even though most

female operators run small farms and the majority live

in the South, age seems to be an overriding factor.

Only 42 percent of the women compared with 59 percent of the men reported any off-farm work in 1978.

For women under age 60, however, 55 percent did

some off-farm work.

Both male and female operators of smaller farms are

more likely than those running larger enterprises to

work off the farm (table 9). For 1979, nonfarm employment was reported by 63 percent of the men and 41

percent of the women operating farms with agricultural sales under $20,000, compared with about 25

percent of the men and 18 percent of the women on

larger farms. Comparatively more spouses who live on

smaller farms operated by men work off the farm, but

on female operations there is no apparent difference

by size of farm. An estimated one of five husbands of

female farmers and one of three wives of male farmers

work off the farm.

When farmers and/or their spouses work off the farm,

they are most likely to work full time all year at their

nonfarm jobs, as indicated by the high percentages

reporting such work 35 hours or more per week 50 to

52 weeks per year. The extent of off-farm work is

greater on smaller farms operated by men. Spouses on

smaller farms operated by women also spend more

time than their counterparts on larger farms at nonfarm work, but farm size has little effect on the

amount of time female operators spend working off

their farms.

Both operators and their spouses most commonly

work off the farm as employees of private business;

they are least likely to work on another farm or ranch,

or be self-employed in a farm-related business (fig. 2).

The greatest differences among activities occur between farmers' spouses. A larger proportion of the

wives than husbands are employed by private business, and a lower proportion are self-employed in a

nonfarm business or profession.

12
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

Although the types of off-farm activities at which male

and female farmers work are similar, occupational data

indicate that the nature of their work differs somewhat. The off-farm jobs of female farmers are, in

comparison, more evenly distributed among various

occupations, with women more often than their male

counterparts working in the professional and technical

group (fig. 3). This category includes service positions

and traditionally female-dominated occupations such

as teaching and nursing.^^ Male farmers are more like-

^'^Analyses of survey findings which included more occupational

detail found farm women typically employed in such jobs {10, 19).

Although these findings do not relate solely to female farmers, 55

percent of the group surveyed considered themselves one of the

main operators of their farms. A related report examines farm

women's contributions to the farm household through their labor

force participation (75).

ly to be employed in crafts or managerial positions. An

equally large proportion of both groups work as operatives, but the kinds of operative positions held may

also vary between men and women. The husbands

most frequently work in service positions and the

wives in clerical jobs. Relatively few farmers or their

spouses work as laborers or supervisors on other

farms.

Income of Farm Households by Source

The average farm household had just over $25,000

total income in 1979 from both farm and nonfarm

sources. The average farmer earned only about

$11,000 from farming. Off-farm income received by

the operator and members of his or her household

makes a significant contribution to improving overall

Table 9—Off-farm work of farm operators and their spouses, by sex of operator and value of agricultural products sold, 1979

Male-operated farms Female-operated farms

Item Total Less than $20,000 Total Less than $20,000

$20,000 or more $20,000 or more

Number

Total operators reporting 2J 06,560 1,258,476 848,084 109,703 84,789 24,914

Off-farm work by:

Operator 999,089 789,762 209,327 38,907 34,526 4,381

Spouse 634,393 428,225 206,168

PercenV

16,878 13,304 3,574

Hours per week at off-farm work:

Operator 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Less than 15 hours 5.9 3.8 13.9 7.6 6.4

15 to 34 hours 7.8 6.0 14.3 15.8 17.4 20.12

35 hours or more 86.3 90.2 71.8 76.6 76.2 79.9

Spouse 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Less than 15 hours 10.1 8.7 13.0 7.7

15 to 34 hours 22.4 20.9 25.4 17.2 23.92 29.02

35 hours or more 67.5 70.4 61.6 75.1 76.1 71.2

Weeks at off-farm work:

Operator 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

26 weeks or less 11.7 8.3 24.1 11.4 11.6

27 to 49 weeks 25.6 26.0 24.4 26.1 26.4 34.12

50 to 52 weeks 62.7 65.7 51.5 62.5 62.0 65.9

Spouse 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

26 weeks or less 14.2 12.0 18.5 11.7 9.8

27 to 49 weeks 32.2 31.4 33.8 24.8 19.5 64.02

50 to 52 weeks 53.6 56.6 47.7 63.5 70.7 36.0

^Percentage distribution of those who indicated hours or weeks worked at off-farm work.

^Categories combined because of insufficient data.

Source: [24 and unpublished data from the 1979 Farm Finance Survey).

13
Judith Z. Kaibacher

income (table 10). Off-farm income means a 118-percent increase in average income per male-operated

farm and a 213-percent increase per female-operated

farm. Eight percent of the Nation's farm households

were solely supported by farm and farm-related activities in 1979; but only 6 percent of the farms were

operated by women. Many other farms also receive

rental income, interest, or dividends stemming from

savings generated by the farm. Although off-farm income may provide a means of expanding the farming

operation, for many small operations, such income is

an economic necessity.

Income on farms operated by women is consistently

lower than on those operated by men. The average

household income on female-operated farms was approximately $16,000 in 1979; it was $26,000 on maleoperated farms. Female operators' lower financial

standing is also reflected in their poverty rate of 25

percent, which is 7 percentage points higher than that

for male-operator households.

Income derived from both farm and off-farm sources is

lower on most female-operated farms than on male

operations. The lower farm income reflects the smaller

scale of women's farms and possibly lower returns to

management and labor. Differences in off-farm income

may be the result of women's lower wages (the most

important off-farm income source) and smaller

households (fewer members to earn off-farm income).

Figure 2

Type of Off-farm Work of Farm Operators

and Their Spouses by Sex, 1979

Pe r c € n t

Emp i o y e e

of another

farm or ranch

Emp i o y e e

of private

business

Gove r nme n t

e mp i o ye €

Seif—empioyed

in a farm

r e i a t € d

business

Se i f —emp ioyed

in a nonfarm

business or

profession

5S. 7

63. 7

62. 5

SMo i e

operators

CXlWi ves

CZlF e ma i e

operators

^Hu sbands

Data reiate only to persons reporting their type of off—farm activity.

Source: Unpubiished data from the 1979 Farm Finance Survey.

14
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

Income data show that 68 percent of total net cash income received by female farmers and members of

their households comes from off-farm sources, compared with 54 percent for males (table 10). Of these

sources, income from wages and salaries, retirement,

and interest contribute most to total income of femaleoperator households. For male-operator households,

wage and salary income also ranks first, but there is

less difference in the proportion obtained from other

sources.

The highest average income for all farm households is

found in the West, which is noteworthy because farm

income is relatively more important in this region (app.

table 2). The high farm income average may be related

to the proportionately large number of commercial

farms in the region, but why farm households also

earn so much from their nonfarm sources is unclear.

In all regions, female-operated farms derive less income from farming than from their nonfarm sources.

On both male and female operations, off-farm income

accounts for the highest percentage of total farm income in the Northeast and South, where wage and

salary jobs contribute most. The large number of older

retired or semi-retired female farmers is reflected in the

high percentage of retirement income reported in the

South.

Dependence on off-farm income closely relates to size

of the farming operation: the smaller the operation

Figure 3

Off-farm Occupation of Farm Operators

and Their Spouses by Sex, 1979

Pe r c e n t Pe r c e n t

Profes—1

s i o n a i

a nd

technical

wo r k e r s

Ma n age r s

and admin—

ist rators

Sa 1 e s

wo r k e r s

Clerical

wo rk e r s

24. 7

Crafts me n

Op erat ives

28. 8

Form

labore rs

and supervisors

Se r V ice

wo r k e r s

E^Ma le

operators

raWi ves

CZlFe ma 1 e

operators

^Husbands

Data relate only to persons reporting their off—farm occupations.

Source: Unpub 1 i s hed data from the 1979 Farm Finance Survey.

15
Judith Z. Kaibacher

and income generated, the greater the dependence on

off-farm income, A ratio of net farm to total household

income was derived to measure the importance of this

relationship. Male and female operators of small-scale

farms are very dependent on off-farm income, whereas

operators of larger farms rely more on farm income

(fig. 4).

Wage and salary income is especially important on

small-scale operations, whether run by men or women

(table 10). Retirement and/or disability income also

makes up a high percentage of the total on smaller

farms, which may reflect part-time, part-retirement

farming. The low average farm income on smaller

farms is undoubtedly also affected by farm losses. Of

the 750,000 farms reporting negative net income from

agricultural sales in 1979, 81 percent were small-scale

operations. Off-farm income was sufficient to offset

farming losses on a majority of these operations. Income is substantially higher on larger farms which are

more dependent on income derived from farming.

Assets and Liabilities

An assessment of farmers' economic situations must

consider their assets and liabilities as well as income.

Farm assets—particularly farm real estate—have become an increasingly important component of farm

wealth (16). In 1979, farmers reported $642 billion of

assets (94 percent of which were farm assets) and $110

billion of liabilities. The average farmers' net worth

(assets minus liabilities) was $276,000.

Table 10—Sources of income of farm operators and household members, by sex of operator and val

products sold, 1979

lue of agricultural

Item

Male-operated farms Female-operated farms

Total Less than

$20,000

$20,000

or more

Total Less than

$20,000

$20,000

or more

Number

Farms by income source:

All sources

Farm only

Farm and off-farm

2,232,308 1,350,336 881,972 121,917 95,965 25,952

183,477 43,274 140,203 6,977 3,985 2,992

2,048,831 1,307,062 741,769 114,940 91,980 22,960

Dollars

Average income by source:

Total net cash income

Farm

Off-farm

25,985

11,914

14,071

17,728

968

16,760

38,626 16,213 12,052 31,600

28,673 5,186 982 20,734

9,953 11,027 12,052 10,866

Percent

Income by source:

Total net cash income

Farm

Off-farm

Wages and salaries

Retirement and/or disability

interest

Nonfarm business or

professional practice

Dividends, estates, trusts,

nonfarm property, royalties

and mineral rights

All other sources

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

45.9 5,5 74.2 32.0 8.1 65.6

54.1 94.5 25.8 68.0 91.9 34.4

37.1 69.5 14.3 39.8 55.9 17.0

4.6 8.9 1.5 11.0 15.2 5.1

4.3 5,0 3.8 6.7 8.0 4.8

4.8 7.4 2.9 5.0 6.5 2.7

3.0 3.1 3.0 3.9 3.9 4.0

.4 .6 .3 1.7 2.3 .7

Source: {24 and unpublished data from the 1979 Farm Finance Survey).

16
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

Assets on female-operated farms totaled nearly $23

billion in 1979. Debt claims against these assets

amounted to just over $2 billion, a much lower ratio

of debts to assets than found among male farmers

(table 11). The average female farmer's net worth was

$171,000. Farm real estate accounts for the largest

share of their assets—just as for men. Further examination of asset composition reveals that women have

fewer production-related assets and more financial

assets than their male counterparts.

Only 37 percent of female operators reported any farm

or nonfarm debt, compared with 58 percent of male

operators. Debt on the average female-operated farm

is approximately half that on the average male operation ($45,000 as compared with $84,000). Relatively

low debt would be expected since women usually

operate smaller farms, generally have lower credit

needs, and thus have less debt. The average farm with

less than $20,000 of agricultural sales in 1979 had

about $13,000 in debt claims, compared with an

average of $101,000 for larger operations.

As indicated by the debt/asset ratio, women obligate a

much smaller share of their assets to obtain credit. The

debt/asset ratio, commonly used as a measure of farmers' financial positions, has implications of financial

security (8). Female farmers would seem to be good

credit risks, yet they use fewer financial resources to

expand or upgrade their farming operations. To further

measure the use of resources for farm purposes, a

ratio of farm debt claims against assets was computed

Figure 4

Dependence on Farm Income, by Sex of Operator

and Value of Agricultural Products Sold, 1979

Pe rce n t age

of fa rms

100 n

75 -

50 -

25 -

Smal i

fa rms

Large

f a rms

B3S0 percent

o r mo r e

C220-79

p e r c e n t

ZZiLe s s than

20 pe rcent

Sma 1 i

f a rms

Large

farms

Ma i e—ope rated Feme i e—op e r a t e d

Dependence on farm income is the ratio of net cash farm to net cash totai

income of farm operators and famiiy members.

Source: Unpubiished data from the 1979 Farm Finance Survey.

17
Judith Z. Kaibacher

Table t1—Assets and liabiíítíes of farm operators^

by sex, 1979

Item Male Female

Number

Farms

Assets

Farm physical

Real estate

Nonreal estate

Financial

Nonfarm

Liabilities

Farm debt

Real estate

Nonreal estate

Nonfarm debt

Net worth

Debt as percentage of assets

Percentage of farms with debt

2,232,308 121,917

Million dollars

618>794 22,844

526J 28 18,899

396,837 15,867

129,291 3,031

57,523 2,742

35,143 1,203

107,731 2,044

99,107 1,816

63,789 1,302

35,317 514

8,624 228

511,063

Percent

MA

57.5

20,800

8.9

36.9

Source: {24).

for small-scale and large farms. Farm debt/asset ratios

are much lower on smaller scale farms operated by

either sex, but regardless of farm size women obligate

fewer of their resources to farming:

Farm debt/asset status by value of agricultural

products sold, 1979

Item Less than

$20,000

$20,000

or more

Percent

Female farmers as a group have not maintained the

same level of activity or expanded or upgraded their

operations as fully as their male counterparts. In this

assessment, however, female farmers' older age structure must be taken into account. Older farmers typically reduce, not expand, their operations. In addition,

the debt level of widows may be reduced by their

husbands' life insurance payments. The large number

of older female farmers may significantly affect the

data on assets and liabilities, but comparable data by

age are not available to measure to what extent. Data

from the 1978 agricultural census, however, show that

the value of land and buildings (the major component

of farm assets) is lower on farms operated by women

60 or older than on farms operated by more production-oriented younger women. In 1978, the average

value of land and buildings held by older female

farmers was $149,000 per farm and $481 per acre; the

averages for younger women were $155,000 per farm

and $582 per acre.

Conclusions

Two dominant operator-types emerge from the data

analysis. One is women who farm on a part-time/partretirement basis. Among this group are women who

inherit their farms late in life or become operators

upon their husbands' retirement or disability. Often

they are semi-retired, farming on a small-scale, parttime basis. They sometimes rent some of their land to

other farmers to generate supplemental retirement

income.

The other, more production-oriented group is characterized by women who farm either full or part time.

They may farm alone or with partners, possibly their

husbands who also work off the farm. These women

tend to operate larger farms than those in semi-retirement, but their average production level is still lower

than that of male farmers.

Male-operated farms:

With debt 42.0 74.4

Debt/asset ratio 7.6 19.5

Female-operated farms:

With debt 28.7 59.8

Debt/asset ratio 4.0 12.1

Household income from farm and off-farm sources was

generally lower on farms operated by women than by

men. In fact, one of four female-operator households

fails to earn enough money to rise above poverty.

These households would benefit from government

assistance to improve their income level. Because the

value of agricultural products sold is so low on most

female-operated farms, female farmers need to raise

18
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

their family income by increasing farm production,

and thus, farm income.

This study describes differences in the nature and scale

of farms operated by men and women; it does not

establish gender as the fundamental cause of these differences, nor does it establish the need for special program assistance for women. Since female farmers are

concentrated in the types of enterprises most needing

government assistance, however, program administrators should be sensitive to the requirements of equal

access to their programs regardless of sex.

Discussions with female farmers suggest that women

may have special gender-related problems gaining access to farm credit. While this has not been shown

statistically, it suggests that female farm operators encounter special problems. At issue is womens' ability

to obtain sufficient working capital to expand their

farming operations. Female-operated farms generally

have a low ratio of debts to assets, indicating that

female farmers should be good credit risks. Yet as a

group, female farmers have not expanded as fully or

even maintained the same level of activity as their

male counterparts. Whether this is due to female

farmers having difficulty gaining equal access to credit

markets or to their older age structure is unclear.

Older farmers, regardless of their sex, are likely to run

smaller farms and receive lower farm income. The

older age of many female farmers may affect their

desire as well as their ability to obtain credit. On the

other hand, female farmers' inability to obtain working

capital may force them, regardless of age, into smaller

scale operations. Data demonstrate that even after adjustments for their age, production/income levels are

comparatively low on the majority of female-operated

farms. If women (and other operators of small farm

units) were helped to use their agricultural resources

more effectively, they could possibly raise their farm

income and improve their economic situation.

In general, programs which benefit male operators

should also benefit their female counterparts. Assurance must be made, however, that women, because

of their gender, are not denied equal access to

assistance, particularly credit programs. Also, commodity price support programs have been most beneficial to very large farms, and thus have not greatly improved the farm income of female operators, with

their typically smaller farms (23). Further, a larger proportion of female than male farmers are engaged in

types of agriculture for which support programs are

not available.

Female farmers are a minority, but unlike most minority

farmers are increasing in number. Programs beneficial

to this growing group include information programs on

leveraging farm assets to obtain essential farm supplies

and equipment, renting farmland, farming on a parttime/part-retirement basis, and adapting a farm operation to an individual's skills and physical abilities

(especially for farm widows).

19
Judith Z. Kaibacher

References

1. Banks,Vera J. and Judith Z. Kaibacher. Farm Income Recipients and Their Families: Ä Socioeconomic Profile. RDRR-30, U.S. Dept. Agr., Econ.

Res. Serv., Sept. 1981.

2. Bentley, Susan and Carolyn Sachs. Farm Women

in the United States: An Updated Literature Review

and Annotated Bibliography. A.E. & R.S.-174,

University Park: The Penn. State Univ., May 1984.

3. Carlin, Thomas A. and Linda M. Ghelfi. ''Off-Farm

Employment and the Farm Sector/' Structure

Issues of American Agriculture. AER-438, U.S.

Dept. Agr., Econ. Stat. Coop. Serv., Nov. 1979.

4. Coulter, Kyle Jane and Marge Stanton. Graduates

of Higher Education in the Food and Agricultural

Sciences: Volume HI—Sex, Race, and Ethnicity of

Students/Graduates and of Food and Agricultural

Professionals. MP. 1433, U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res.

Serv., Jan. 1983,

NORC-30, National Opinion Research Center,

Chicago, III., 1981.

11. Joyce, Lynda M. and Samuel M. Leadley. An

Assessment of Research Needs of Women in the

Rural United States: Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography. AERS-127, University Park:

The Penn. State Univ., 1977.

12. Knickerbocker, Brad. ''Women 'Digging In' on the

Farm," The Christian Science Monitor. Dec. 10,

1979.

13. Ross, Peggy J. "Farmv^omen's Participation in

United States Agriculture: Selected Assessments."

Ph.D. dissertation, Columbus: The Ohio State

Univ., 1982,

14. Sachs, Carolyn E. The Invisible Farmers: Women in

Agricultural Production. Totow^a, N.J.: Rowman &

Allanheld, 1983.

5. Dunkelberger, John E. and others. Higher Education in Agriculture: Students at Southern LandGrant Universities. Southern Coop. Series Bull.

270. Southern Reg. Agr. Exp. Stats,, July 1982.

15. Salant, Priscilla. Farm Women: Contribution to

Farm and Family. Agr, Econ. Res. Rpt. 140, Dept.

Agr, Econ., Miss. State Univ. in coop, with the

U.S. Dept. Agr., Mar. 1983.

Fowler, Becky, Rural Women: An Annotated

Bibliography. Morgantown: West Virginia Univ,,

1979.

16. Schertz, Lyle P. and others. Another Revolution in

U.S. Farming? AER-441, U.S. Dept. Agr., Econ.

Stat. Coop. Serv., Dec. 1979.

7. Geisler, Charles C. and others. The Structure of

Agricultural Land-Ownership in the United States,

1946 and 1978. No. 26, Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell

Univ. Agr. Exp. Stat., 1983,

8. Harrington, David H. and others. U.S. Farming in

the Early 1980's: Production and Financial Structure. AER-504, U.S. Dept. Agr., Econ. Res. Serv.,

Sept. 1983.

9. Hill, Frances. "Why Women Deserve More Opportunity in Farming," Rural Human Services. Ed.

H. Wayne Johnson. The Univ. of Iowa, Itasca, III:

F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1980.

10. Jones, Calvin and Rachel A. Rosenfeld. American

Farm Women: Findings from a National Survey.

17. Scholl, Kathleen K. "Classification of Women as

Farmers: Economic Implications," Family

Economics Review. No, 4 (1983), 8-16.

18. "Household and Farm Task Participation of W^omen," Family Economics Review. No. 3

(1982), 3-9.

19. . "Working Farm Women: On and Off

the Farm," Paper presented at the Wingspread

Seminar on Women's Roles on North American

Farms, Racine, Wise, July 1982.

20. Thompson, Allen R. and Michael Green. "The

Status of Minority Farms in the United States,

1974." ESS Staff Report, AGESS801009, U.S. Dept.

Agr., Econ. Stat. Serv., Oct. 1980.

20
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

21.

22.

23.

24

25.

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The Decline of

Black Farming in America. Washington, D.C.,

1982.

U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Agriculture,

Nutrition, and Forestry. Farm Structure: A

Fiistorical Perspective on Changes in the Number

and Size of Farms. Committee print, Apr. 1980.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Econ. Res. Serv. Fconomic Indicators of the Farm Sector: income and Balance

Sheet Statistics, 1982. ECÎFS 2-2, Oct. 1983.

U.S. Dept. Comm., Bur. Cen. 1978 Census of

Agriculture, Vol. 5: Special Reports. Part 6: "1979

Farm Finance Survey," 1982.

. 1978 Census of Agriculture. Vol. 1: Summary and State Data. Parts 1-51, 1981.

27.

26. Census of Agriculture, [specified year].

General Report, 1929-74.

"Household and Family Characteristics," Current Population Reports. Series P-20,

No. 352, July 1980.

28.

30.

31.

"Marital Status and Living Arrange29.

ments: March 1979," Current Population Reports.

Series P-20, No. 349, Feb. 1980.

. Historical Statistics of the United States,

Colonial Times to 1957, 1960.

U.S. Dept. Health and Human Serv., Nat. Cent.

Health Stat. "Advance Report of Final Marriage

Statistics, 1981," Monthly Vital Statistics Report

Vol. 32, No. 11, Supp. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS)

84-1120, Feb. 1984.

. "Annual Summary of Births, Deaths,

Marriages, and Divorces: United States, 1982,"

Monthly Vital Statistics Report. Vol. 31, No. 13.

DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 83-1120, Oct. 1983.

32. U.S. Dept. Labor, Bur. Lab. Stat. £mp/oyment and

Earnings. Vol. 28, No. 1, Jan. 1981.

33.

1, Jan. 1971

Employment and Earnings. Vol. 17, No.

21
Judith Z. Kaibacher

Appendix table 1—Geographic distribution of female farm operators^ by age and race, 1978

Area Total

Percentage of each

area's total farm

operators

Percentage

over 60 years

of age

Percentage

black and

minority races

United States

Northeast

Maine

New Hampshire

Vermont

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Connecticut

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Midwest

Ohio

Indiana

Illinois

Michigan

Wisconsin

Minnesota

Iowa

Missouri

North Dakota

South Dakota

Nebraska

Kansas

South

Delaware

Maryland

Virginia

West Virginia

North Carolina

South Carolina

Georgia

Florida

Kentucky

Tennessee

Alabama

Mississippi

Arkansas

Louisiana

Oklahoma

Texas

West

Montana

Idaho

Wyoming

Colorado

New Mexico

Arizona

Utah

Nevada

Washington

Oregon

California

Alaska

Hawaii

Number

128,170

8,852

558

257

592

453

50

393

2,917

754

2,878

33,811

4,045

2,816

3,286

2,636

3,163

2,208

3,048

6,079

927

1,098

1,702

2,803

68,470

230

1,475

4,668

1,557

5,580

3,304

3,736

4,441

7,750

6,585

3,514

3,681

3,408

2,112

4,584

11,845

17,037

1,261

818

478

1,475

894

467

375

206

2,065

2,187

6,204

28

579

-Percent5.2

5.9

6.8

7.8

8.1

7.7

5.8

8.6

5.9

7.6

4.8

3.3

4.2

3.2

3.0

3.9

3.5

2.1

2.4

5.0

2.3

2.8

2.6

3.6

6.7

6.3

7.9

8.2

7.6

6.2

9.9

6.4

10.1

7.0

6.8

6.1

6.8

5.8

5.4

5.8

6.1

5.9

5.2

3.1

5.6

5.0

6.3

6.1

2.7

7.2

5.5

6.3

7.6

7.3

13.4

47.5

37,6

28.5

28.4

30.1

40.6

38.0

45.8

32.4

42.6

44.0

45.0

43.2

50.1

48.7

40.6

38.2

36.9

46.3

48.1

40.3

44.1

45.0

50.5

52.2

39.1

40.8

51.7

56.6

50.4

55.8

48.4

46.1

58.1

56.0

44.7

51.7

43.1

51.5

50.9

56.3

38.6

43.4

43.5

45.0

37.1

51.5

33.0

48.0

41.3

35.8

36.3

36.4

14.3

39.9

6.0

.5

.7

.3

.2

.3

.3

1.1

.6

.9

.5

.7

.7

1.1

.2

.8

.8

.6

2.3

5.5

1.6

1.7

9.0

- 2.6

4.1

5.5

1.2

14.6

27.1

12.3

4.4

1.5

4.0

17.5

30.4

7.S

11.6

8.0

3.9

7.4

2.9

6.8

1.0

3.1

12.5

7.3

1.1

6.3

2.3

1.2

6.0

86.0

— = Zero or a percentage which rounds to less than 0.1.

Source: [25 and unpublished data from the 1978 Census of Agriculture).

22
A Profile of Female Farmers in America

Appendix table 2—Income of farm operators and household members, by source, region, and sex of operator, 1979

Item

Northeast Midwest South1 West

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

Number

Farms by income source:

All sources

Farm only

Farm and off-farm

139,091

6,623

132,468

10,395

158

10,237

943,163

101,223

841,940

35,560

2,464

33,096

Dollars

902,249

58,091

844,158

58,796

3,448

55,348

247,805

17,540

230,265

17,166

907

16,259

Average income by source:

Total net cash income

Farm

Off-farm

25,207

9,953

15,255

14,968

1,061

13,907

24,186

12,585

11,601

16,388

5,895

10,493

23,950

8,594

15,356

14,433

4,224

10,209

40,675

22,552

18,123

22,701

9,513

13,188

Percent

Income by source:

Total net cash income 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Farm 39.5 7.1 52.0 36.0 35.9 29.3 55.4 41.9

Off-farm 60.5 92.9 48.0 64.0 64.1 70.7 44.6 58.1

Wages and salaries 43.3 60.4 33.9 36.6 44.0 40.6 27.3 34.5

Retirement and/or

disability 4.2 10.9 3.6 9.0 6.1 13.5 3.5 8.7

interest 4.3 7.1 4,1 6.1 4.2 6.8 4.7 6.9

Nonfarm business

or professional

practice 5.8 6.0 3.7 7.4 5.4 3.8 5.7 3.4

Dividends, estates.

trusts, nonfarm

property, royalties

and mineral rights 2.6 6.8 2.2 2.6 4.1 4.5 2.8 3.7

All other sources .3 1.7 .4 2.3 .4 1.6 .5 .9

Source: {24 and unpublished data from the 1979 Farm Finance Survey).

23
Related Reports

To purchase the following reports, write Superintendent of Documents,

U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Include

the title, series number, and GPO stock number in your order. Make

checks payable to Superintendent of Documents.

Counting Hired Farmworkers: Some Points To Consider, by Leslie

A.Whitener. AER-524. December 1984. 16 pp. $1.00. GPO

SN: 001-019-00367-7. Finds that as many as two-thirds of the Nation's

hired farmworkers may not have been counted in the 1980 Decennial

Census farm labor categories because they were not working on farms

in March when the data were collected.

Immigration Reform and Agricultural Labor, by Robert Coltrane.

AER-510. April 1984. 36 pp. $2.00. GPO SN: 001-000-04411-7.

Assesses the effects of recent legislation which proposes that farm

employers hire either American workers or legal foreign workers.

Labor-intensive farms, particularly in vegetable- and fruit-growing

States would be most affected by this legislation.

Housingof the Rural Elderly, by Gaû D.Arnold. RDRR42. July

1984. 20 pp. $1.50. GPO SN: 001-019-00335-9. The number

of rural elderly households rose 16 percent between 1974 and 1979,

compared with a 10-percent increase for all U.S. households,

according to this study based on the 1979 Annual Housing Survey.

Chartbook of Nonmetro-Metro Trends, RDRR-43. September 1984.

48 pp. $2.50. GPO SN: 001-019-00351-1. Presents charts, tables,

maps, and text concerning differences in population, employment,

income, poverty, housing, and government between nonmetro and

metro America.

? Ü. s . GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1985-460-94 1 : 20023-E;RS
United States

Department of Agriculture

Washington, D.C.

20250

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