In Celebration of My Mother’s Birthday
The Fearless Female Farmer non-profit is inspired by my mother’s journey to find a place in farming. Today, we are launching a fundraising campaign to expand our educational initiatives at the farm!
Today would be my mother’s 76th birthday. That is a special number in my world. My farm is 76 acres. I was a Bicentennial Baby in 1976, and my great-grandfather was a Centennial Baby in 1876. And 7+6=13, which is my lucky number. To mark this special day, we are officially launching our “Opportunity Campaign”: a fundraising initiative to expand educational opportunities at Harrison Farm. My mother was an educator, so this is a fitting way to celebrate her birthday — and she is the inspiration behind my efforts to mentor young people in agriculture.
My mother Rebecca loved growing up on the farm. She rode her horse all over the land, adored caring for animals, and spent every moment she could helping her father in the barn. She was naturally attuned to animal husbandry. Unfortunately, my mother grew up in a time when farming was not a career option for women. I frequently heard my grandmother comment that my mother should have been a boy, or say that she was the closest my grandfather had to a son. My grandmother meant well, but she made it clear that girls just could not do things that boys did. Grandmother believed that she had failed because she only had daughters; that life would have been so much better if she had just had a boy. I heard this commentary decades later, yet I can imagine the immediate impact it would have had on my mother as she was growing up. “If only you were a boy.”
Conversely, I never heard my grandfather make any statements along these lines. Rather, he seemed to welcome having my mother (and then me) follow him around in the barn as a small child, and then grow into helping on the farm. My grandfather believed in building skills, regardless of gender. He wanted his girls to learn to bake bread and to bale hay, to sew and to castrate, to run a tractor and to run a washing machine — because these were all useful skills for life. My mother flourished under this influence, and grew into a very accomplished individual. She could bake a cake or birth a lamb with equal expertise.
My mother graduated high school in 1967. At the age of 18, she was a skilled equestrian, she could handle virtually any task on a livestock farm, and she already had her pilot’s license. When she got to college, however, she was told that her career options as a woman were limited: teacher, nurse, secretary. My mother chose to pursue education, and she made a significant impact as a middle school teacher. But I always wondered what my mother could have achieved if society had not imposed gender expectations on her. I wonder who my mother would have been if she had been encouraged to find fulfillment as a self-actualized human pursuing her own dreams, instead of believing her fulfillment as a woman would come from her husband achieving his dreams. And I wonder what my life would have been like as a result of her fearlessly pursuing her passions — instead of marrying to try to find her purpose.
I love farming and I love my farm. As time has gone on, I clearly discern how gender defined my mother’s life, and how it impacted my ability to farm. As I have worked with amazing young people through the Harrison Farm internship program, it has become very important to me that they be able to pursue their dreams regardless of gender, or race, or religion, or any other qualifier that is simply a part of their being. Farming is hard. The dream of farming is a lot easier than the reality. But if someone is willing to put in the work, then they deserve the opportunity to pursue their passion.
I have now mentored 80 young people through dedicated learning experiences at my farm. I am very proud of this. Being a mentor is one of my most important roles. I do not receive any funding for my work as a mentor; I do this in addition to my work as a full-time farmer because I believe so passionately in the future of agriculture. I started the Fearless Female Farmer non-profit to inspire beginning farmers, cultivate inclusion, and empower the next generation of agriculturalists. My mother’s career options may have been limited in 1967, but I am hopeful her legacy will inspire others to achieve their own dreams.
To celebrate my mother’s birthday, we are officially launching the Fearless Female Farmer “Opportunity Campaign”. I am grateful to have a board of strong, brilliant leaders working to grow the Fearless Female Farmer non-profit with me. I am asking for support of the Fearless Female Farmer “Opportunity Campaign” because we have built a remarkable internship program that is making a real impact, and because I believe we can significantly expand these educational initiatives with dedicated funding. Harrison Farm has a track record of changing lives, all while operating on a shoestring. Investments in our non-profit are investments in the future of agriculture. And that future is bright!
