Record number of women in lead state ag jobs - Entrepreneur Generations

A record 13 women have been elected or appointed to lead state agriculture departments, a number that could rise since five states still have their top ag jobs open.

Women already led the ag departments in California, Idaho, Missouri, Oregon, Utah and Virginia before 2019, and since the beginning of 2019, women have taken office in the top state agriculture jobs in Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried told Politico "We’re breaking down glass ceilings for [women in agriculture], giving them opportunities to not just work the farm but step up in trade associations, step up in leadership." And Karen Ross, who has served as secretary of California's Department of Food and Agriculture since 2011, told Politico that she has seen an increase in women in ag leadership roles since she took office, McCrimmon reports.

The rise in women in ag leadership mirrors an overall increase in women in agriculture, since more and more women are running cattle ranches and family farms. Women make up 31 percent of U.S. farmers and ranchers, run 14 percent of all U.S. farms and ranches, and own 30 percent of U.S. farmland. That number could increase, since 44 percent of all Future Farmers of America students are girls, according to Jeanne Bernick, a principal and market strategist with ag firm KCoe Isom.

from The Rural Blog http://bit.ly/2t2TGge Record number of women in lead state ag jobs - Entrepreneur Generations

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