Supporting Agricultural Resilience: The Value of Women Farmers' Communication Practices

Abstract

While women in the United States (U.S.) are increasingly entering into or being recognized for their role as farm operators, researchers argue that women farmers have been and continue to be under-recognized and researched. In the face of increasing environmental and financial challenges, as well as a variety of challenges related to domestic life, women farmers remain resilient. Buzzanell's (2010) resilience communication theory suggests that forming and maintaining communication networks is essential to resilience processes. Drawing on interviews with 35 U.S. women farmers, we argue that communication networking is valuable to food systems; specifically, these practices contributed to and reified the resilience of the individual farmers, their farm business, and the greater sustainable agriculture sector. Implications for women farmers as a community of practice, as well as organizations serving these populations, are discussed.

Untitled

“…Female-identifying operators are more likely to have smaller operations and concerns about sustainability and the environment (Ball, 2014). However, female operators may face greater challenges, such as a lack of cultural capital, and knowledge of resources and services available to them (Ball, 2014;Daigle & Heiss, 2020;Schmidt et al, 2021). Similarly, the number of years working in agritourism undoubtedly has its benefits; an operator with generational knowledge of an area and a wealth of cultural capital may fare better than a new operator in the same geographic area (Inwood, 2013;Scott & Richardson, 2021;Sutherland & Burton, 2011).…”

Introduction to the Special Issue: More Than Value$ in the Food System

“…Supporting Agricultural Resilience: The Value of Women Farmers' Communication Practices by Daigle and Heiss (2020) uses a qualitative interview methodology to examine the resilience of women farmers in what has been a gendered occupational category. As the authors note, women's farming practices within sustainable agriculture emphasize environmental and social well-being, as well as food quality, over agricultural intensification to increase monetary income.…”