 Diana Prichard lives and works at the intersection of the alternative food movement and the reality of modern agriculture and believes that a finer-tuned food future is possible without all the in-fighting. She operates a small, niche pork operation; running a few hundred hogs per year in the heart of Michigan's farm country. You can follow her story at RighteousBacon.com, Twitter and Facebook. I’ll never forget my first agriculture conference. I carefully selected the sessions I wanted to attend and made sure I arrived at the one and only panel dedicated to women in ag early. I picked a seat, pulled my favorite pen and a trusty notebook out of my bag and got ready for what I assumed would be an education-filled hour. And I suppose, in hindsight, what followed was an education - just not in the way I’d expected. The sexism wasn’t new, of course. It was sitting in a room full of other women that I had wrongly assumed would understand it that caught me by surprise. Prior to that conference and in so many instances since then I’d encountered regular discrimination in my pursuit of a career in the decidedly male-dominated field. I’ve been everything from subtly ignored to outwardly rejected because of my gender. I’m regularly made to prove myself before I’m taken seriously in situations where men can simply walk in and command the room. I’ve been told that women are too weak to run hogs and I’ve stood in front of a room full of men who refused to interact with me in what was supposed to be an interactive demo. I even had one man refuse money for products and services he regularly supplies others unless my husband approved. On bad days I take my frustration out on fence posts and hog huts, anything that needs mending with a hammer or an axe. On good days I’m reminded that what does not kill me makes me stronger and I appreciate the thicker skin and wider perspective I’m afforded by these struggles. As a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian I figure even a rudimentary understanding of what it’s like to be a minority is a gift. And sometimes, on great days, when it’s been a while since the last time I noticed the glass ceiling above me, I almost forget it’s even there. Almost, until something brings it back to my attention; and something always does. This week, that thing came as a surprise - even to me. When I first watched the Ram Trucks “So God Made a Farmer” ad during the Superbowl I reacted in much the same way I did during that first women in ag session, I sat in stunned silence. This time for much different reasons though.
I, like so many farmers, was elated to see a major corporation taking such a prominent stand on behalf of one of the nation’s hardest working industries. I didn’t care that Paul Harvey was evoking a higher power that I don’t worship or that only a couple of the people in the ad looked like me. After all, few people in the industry look like me to begin with. In fact, it wasn’t until Monday morning that I realized how strongly the sparse amount of diversity in the ad hit others. Across social media platforms women and minorities were asking where the farmers that look like them were, why weren’t they adequately represented. Or, at least, why they didn’t feel adequately represented. My initial reaction was one of confusion, hadn’t I seen a black farmer? A couple of Hispanic farmers? I knew for sure I’d seen a woman or three and a young girl. Sure, they weren’t in every other picture, but in my experience women and racial minorities are not an everyday occurance in the industry either. No sooner could I think it and review the ad to find out if I was mistaken than were my memories confirmed and then challenged on Facebook, “One black person, a couple latinos, and a woman does not represent the diversity of our farmers.” one woman posted. But does it? According to the most recent Census of Agriculture my experience is not abnormal. White men still make up the grand majority of farm operators. Of the roughly 2.2 million farms in America 1.83 million or about 83% are principally operated by a Caucasian male. I went back and counted the people in the Ram ad. Of the twenty five people pictured only about 68% were white males. Dodge over, not under-represented farming minorities and as I broke down the numbers further, I found they did so across the board. Women, while only 14% of principal farm operators in the agriculture industry made up 20% of those depicted in Dodge’s ad. Black farmers, while making up less than 2% of principal farm operators, made up 4% of the ad. And Hispanic operators, while making up less than 3% of principal farm operators in the industry, were pictured as 8% of the ad demographic. Even farm workers are primarily male. As of 2010, men made up 84% of all hired farm workers and were present at a slightly higher rate, 87%, among hired farm managers. Women and racial minorities do make up a minority part of Dodge’s rendition of “So God Made a Farmer,” but the Ram Trucks version of America’s agricultural sector is not so far removed from the reality of our fields, barns, and feedlots. Rather than blasting the company for a rather accurate depiction of something that makes us uncomfortable, maybe our energy would be better directed elsewhere, such as on programs and campaigns that encourage more minorities to join the ag industry. Maybe, instead of asking Dodge how dare they bring the decidedly white and male nature of our farms to our attention, we say, “Hey Dodge, next time you honor the people who feed us we want you to be able to accurately depict even more minorities, and we’re going to do something to make that happen.” Do you feel the Dodge ad accurately represented the agriculture community? Should more be done to bring women and minorities into farming? We'd love to hear what you have to say in the comments below. Previously: |
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women/minorities/professional victims.................two words...............TALKS' CHEAP
The problem with online "news" content is you routinely pickup outdated articles.
Your are simply a young self-righteous muck and you know how I know this? The galling hypocritical tone of your writing and the fact that you find an article of farming suitable for an extreme close up of your bleached blond face. I guess a few people have told you that you are pretty?
Had you tended a men's session you'd also find small talk diverging from the main content because the people who actually do this work live it, breath it, get up in the wee hours to it, finally get some break from it for a little sleep and when they get away from it for a while are likely to chat with people they meet about other things. If their conversation about their farmer husbands is such drivel to you, explain to me again why your face is posted on this article like a "SWFPF looking for MF" ad? You engage in the same thing you put others down for. Show us your pigs and get over yourself.
One day in the not too distant future you'll find you don't know near as much as you think you do.
Kuddos you are willing to work for a living. Even better you want to find solutions to problems rather than the typical male approach to make them. But farming? Really? Girls? Sure they CAN. Like any field if they choose too they can also excel. But the choose to for playing in the dirt will always be something few will do. To say they "can't" do as they please is to fail to come to terms with reality vs a govt/politically correct lie that you cannot do as you please with your life. That is exactly what we all do. Everyday. Some, must come to grips with the fact the fact it is encumbant upon THEM to do so. All the minorities that benefitted from Obama's failed solar venture were schemers and takers. They were people who took advantage of handouts, they were not people who wished to create something for themselves but to cash in. Short term gain like that is nothing but a scheme and no, we don't need to continue that. We'd be doing them a favor to let a lot of welfare checks dry up, the takers would find self respect as well as abilities. The democrates buy and pay for with tax dollars the hopes and dreams and keep minorities in worse poverty than before all the programs started. When I say worse, why? Because now they genuinely believe the govt owes them and never ever even try to discover the power they have to do, to create, to build and grow. All for a measily check several generations have been destroyed by lies.
nuff of that. until people latch onto the idea that THEY are able, they can and that they SHOULD at their own peril develop their skills – in today's PC world, more lies, and they won't
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The commentator does not strike me as a mainstream farmer, but as an elitist hobbyist more concerned with saving the earth and making sure the rest of us live our lives the way she thinks we should. I grew up on an Iowa farm, saw neighbors take their own lives when century farms were lost in the 1980s, and was taught all the life lessons one is exposed to in that difficult business. NEVER in all my years in a farming community did I see female farmers disrespected in any way because of their gender. Yes; female sole-proprietors of farms were relatively rare, but "farm wives" were cosidered every bit as legitimate in their farming skills and knowledge as "their farmers". This piece does not in any way represent how farmers regard one another. My sisters could all throw bales, drive tractors, and withstand 10 hour days in the soybean fields when the temperatures were in the 90s and 100s–and everyone else in the community knew that women were capable farmers. I suspect that the disrespect the author experiences is less about her gender and more about her own short-comings as a person–not a female person, but a person, period.
I grew up on a dairy farm and my father farmed for 55 years of his life. My mother, a small town girl, joined him when she was 20. I fondly remember listening to Paul Harvey everyday. My parents loved the commercial, it was their favourite one as it honoured all of their hard work – they didn't even think or care about what colour or gender people were. To them, it was a tribute to farming. Although they have only owned one Dodge truck in their life, they are definitely the target market. And advertising to target markets is what a company should do. Beer companies don't show tons of women drinking beer,even though women do drink beer, etc, etc. I think anyone they offended probably wasn't in the market for a dodge truck anyway.
As a female cattle rancher, I must say that I feel respected for my knowledge and abilities, and not my gender! I don't care if you are a male or female, being judged for your skills is what's important. My cattle don't care about my gender–my daughters and sons are just as capable at running a ranch. I have sometimes answered the phone to have the other person ask for my husband, and when they start talking about buying a bull, my husband says, "Hang on, you need to talk to my wife..." and hands the phone back to me. I have never shown a bull to anyone who has not purchased a bull. I may be insulated a bit in a small town, but I do not feel the gender inequality that you mention.
It is more important to me to get the job done! And I applaud Dodge for their commercial praising farmers. Instead of worrying over the details, I appreciate the respect and acknowledgement that we receive from that very pricey 60 seconds!
I regularly blog about my life as the Rancher on our Kansas cattle ranch. My husband works in town during the day and I'm in charge of 500+ head of cattle. Go see it at: http://kansascattleranch.blogspot.com I am blessed to be able to do what I love!
I think the point is that, barring few exceptions, the rule is generally white males have farms. Historically this makes a lot of sense considering how long farmlands have been in a particular family's hands and that the civil rights movement only recently hit its real stride. Much in the same manner have women really come into their own; not forty years ago were there some pretty sexist restrictions in many states.
This all being said. Meh. Its not a 'problem' in a literal sense.
Discussing the matter of gender within a topic such as farming has a macro-level purpose – that is, to point out discrepancies between broad cultural representations of the farmer (more often than not a white male) and the diverse reality of farmers (multiracial, socioeconomic backgrounds, sex, etc.) as they are not represented to a wide-scale audience.
The harm that can come from this is the perpetuated hyperfocus on white male farmers, thereby putting farmers who do not fall into these racial and sex categories at risk of erasure from larger communities. Also, while women have much greater agency as well as respect from their communities as leaders, there is still the cultural assumption of male as the assumed leader, which can prove challenging when women farmers (or women in any leadership position) navigate business environments where there may still be a vague haze of male dominance.
Which comes back to the importance of pointing this kind of thing out.
Our project should explain a but about the role minorities play in our farming communities.
http://vimeo.com/57491166
password is illumine1234
FOX IS BEST
CNN UNWASHED FILTH FOR AMERICAN PIGDOGS
CHINA N UMBER ONE CANT STOP INEVITABLE TRUTH
China's pretty good at stopping the truth with censorship of about everything, so you are wrong. You can stop inevitable truth.
Where are the female farmers? Certainly you jest!
Who cares? I'm tired of every single topic in U.S. has to now be about alleged minorities. If alleged minorities want to do something, all they have to do is get off their lazy butts (and SSI payments) and get to work. Did you ever think that farmers themselves are a minority? Nope, cuz their skin is white.
Everyone I know that is on unemployment, medicare, medicaid, welfare, food stamps, and "disability" are white and under 50.
Just sayin'.
Farming is pretty hard work and when it does not get done you can not blame others. That would help to explain why there are few minorities and women that end up being farmers. A farmer also has to pay taxes and there is another reason that minorities do not get into farming.
ROFL, tell that to the Alabama farmers who went ballistic because their crops went bad after Bentley the Brilliant ousted all the minority crop workers, they tried bringing in unemployed local people to pick the crops, when their backs got sore they left and never came back and the price of produce in the South spiked up. In the highlands of Puerto Rico, where my father's from, all the folks who haven't been tainted by American mediacultural "assimilation" have either banana trees, calabash, breadfruit, yams, tomatoes, coffee, oranges, limes, grapefruit, herbs, avocadoes, mangoes, azaroles, pigeon peas, soursop, passion fruit, papaya, and/or hens growing in their back yard, to eat and as a hobby, yet my Georgia-raised cousins wouldn't be bothered to dig a hole with a mattock if they were starving and you told them there was a big pot full of BBQ ribs and sweet corn bread under the ground.
"Where are the female and minority farmers?"
Collecting welfare, alimony and voting
Why does it matter what groups are farming? It seems the people who claim to stand against racism make every little thing about race.
I agree copmpletely. CNN is hyper sensitive about race. It's ALWAYS about race with them. I actually know some black farmers in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Whoever wrote this article is an idiot.
How politically correct foolish it is to even be asking the question "Where are the minority farmers". How silly. Anyone who wants to be a farmer, can be one if they are willing to work for it. But if you really want to find out where the minority farmers are, look where they are passing out the checks from the Pigford give a way that is supposed to settle so called minority farmers being discriminated against years ago. There is almost a million black farmers signed up for checks. But I think it's really telling that now the question is, where are the minority farmers. The Pigford deal is for pigs being fed out of the government trough.
Something about 'Diane Prichard' and 'pork' sounds delicious.
White folk killed them all – 1870-1960"S
Get over it. There is nothing stopping you from farming today if you wanted to do so. But I doubt you want to.
A lot of minorities probably think farming is too much work!
Well, the most accurate view is that a lot of minorities prop- up the farmer operator. Their contribution is not recognized even though the industry would collapse without them. For example, Latinos have always had a substantial hand at agricultural food production and recognized as hard workers, yet many are leaving those vocations (and good for them) for lack of equitable return for their work. Women also fall into this unfair treatment. Hmm, I wonder how many farmers are in good conscious able to say that they could make it without the women in their lives.
that is so incredibly racist, I work and live on a dairy farm and I've met an incredible amount of hispanic, black, and asian workers who could work 2 or 3 times longer than you, and that's a guarantee. You don't even slightly understand their problems and determination, they are incredible people and the backbone of Agriculture in this country.
John, I'll wager you never spent a single morning on a produce farm in the southeast or southwestern U.S. in your entire life. I'll also wager that you would have dropped everything and started to whine like a little girl when the first blood blister on your hand appeared after your father gave you a machete to clear elephant grass from a field in the hot tropical sun at the age of 13, like our parents used to do to break us in. Stick to what you know.
John a lot of white people think farming is too much work. You can't hire white teens to work the fields because their parents hand them money, they don't have to work for money. The government thought it a great idea to have unemployed people come out to the fields to detassle corn, most didn't make it past 3 days. In the meantime what are the farmers supposed to do with their crops that need to be harvest in a crucial time frame? Keep bashing the minorities folks, you are just digging your own hole. At least they have the fortitude to work hard for their money. Oh and for those that don't think they pay taxes, believe me, the governemnt takes their share before the workers even see their check.
I think the bigger question is what has happened to the family farmer in America.
Just to point out the obvious, black people worked on farms for over 400 hundred years in this country. They were decidedly the majority of farmers for the duration of that period. I think they deserve a break.
Diana Prichard sounds like a whiny incompetent person. What do you want, legislation madating a certain percentage of women farmers? should the government buy land for you and guarantee your crops? Just go away.
That was his point, the Illegals work hard on the Farms while the Legals refuse to work at all. Get it?
Have you even met a farmer? They may be the hardest working group of people in America regardless of race. Educate yourself instead of reading secondhand racist crap on CNN.
THis is a great example of Mark Twain's famous quots about lies, damned lies, and statistics. Sure, most owner/operators are white males. As far as the actual laborers on the farm, the overwhelming majority of farm laborers in this country are Mexican. Visit a field in California sometime. Hundreds of workers, not a white man in sight. No, the ad did not represent the actual American farm industry. I'm sure the writer works hard, but she's not the only one, and is no doubt better compensated than the migrants she hires to actually bring in her crops.
It represented the Farmers who buy Dodge Trucks, not their employees. That is California and not the rest of the USA. Not so many on Ranches and non Truck farm operations. Yes in the produce industry but that is just part of the Farms in America. Then nothing stops them, if they are legal from becoming an owner. Did you know that in the 1800s and early 1900s many Ranch hands gained Herds from collecting Mavericks until they had enough to start their own spread. they did not need a lot of land for this as the Grazing land is mostly Govt. owned and leased to ranchers by the number of cattle to be grazed. The American way from Employee to Owner!
I knew a black dude that had 20 plants growing on his balcony. Does that count ??
Sure but does he drive a Dodge truck?
He will be soon, after plants are mature, dried and sold. Get the HEMI.
hahahahahahhaa....I can't quit laughing. This is too easy. I will say Hispanics do work and are good hired farm hands. I just leave it at that before I digress....... Hahahahahaha No, but really....hahahahahaha
You wanna farm? Go freaking farm!!! Stop wasting America's time with this social progressive bull crap and freaking do something. No, the government does not need to spend money so we have more female and minority farmers. No, laws do not need to be enacted so we can "equalize the playing field." You wanna farm....freakin farm and stop pissing on the wheels of actual progress.
So true. This is not a social issue that needs attending to. If Mexicans, Blacks, Women what to farm, that's fine. If they don't want to farm, that's fine too. Let us not, by any clever manipulation or program, compel people into businesses that do not really interest them and will not be satisfying to them.
Farmers tend to be an independent, self sustaining type of people who love their way of llife and wish no other. Putting people onto farms by some social program is a recipe for program and people failure.
By the way, how many Asians were in the Dodge ad? I've known many Chinese and Japanese farmers.
Only liberals would find racism and sexism in an ad that purports the importance of farmers.
The Dodge ad had nothing to do with identifying the exact demographics of the farming community; it had to do with the work ethic involved in farming and comparing that to the Dodge product line, particulary with the Ram truck.
I guess now everytime a company or industry makes an advertisement, there has to be a message scrolling along the bottom specifying the exact percentages of race/sex that represents, not the message trying to be portrayed, but the inevitable race/sex-baiting that will ensure afterward.
This clearly isn't the Nation I grew up in any longer.
We farmers are extremely tired of government bureaucrats and Wall Street meddling.
How about you, the farmers, stop taking taxpayer subsidies then?
You should do a little research – it's not us 1000 acre or less family owned farms that get the subsidies. It's the large corporate (c-corp) farms that get over 90% of the subsidies...education and reading IS a good thing.
You do realize that is the reason a lot of farmers become incorporated, do you not? Educate yourself. All it takes is a little paperwork and a filing fee. BAM. Type C corporation.
Subsidy, please!
And Steve. Steve, Steve, Steve. One assumes by your name that you have never had to spend any time as a woman, and probably not had to spend time as any other marginalized minority either. IF you had you would not so airily be saying that anyone can do anything they want, they just have to do it. This is not a Nike commercial, this is life and there really ARE glass ceilings in business which make many many bumps on the heads of women and people of color. Having a president who is a man of color might do more to change that than anything but we are still many many leagues away from anything resembling equality so please don't talk about what you have no experience with.
So what is the answer or fix to this.....our governments answer has been to fix injustice with more injustice without a thought to educating
Fix what? We are talking about a commercial for Dodge Trucks and all of a sudden it becomes a racial issue with the African Americans. If I count right I only remember one Hispanic here commenting and he was no different from the white man. it is just African Americans always playing victim and crying discrimination. Go buy a farm and go to work, no one is stopping you, Yes same for Females that so aspire, no Glass ceilings on the Farm or Ranch. That is how the damned White man does it so have at it.
There is nothing to fix. If a female or a minority or a female minority want to start a farm, buy some land. Organic farms worked by hand can make upwards of $15,000 – $20,000 per acre. It's not always easy work, but you can make a nice living off of it. Netflix has them all centrally located, but there are quite a few documentaries on the subject there.
I dont think there is anything to fix either but I wanted to hear the original posters thought on how they would fix the inequality they seem to think abounds and prevades everything. Affirmitive Action was the governments fix to hiring and school application not exactly a just fix. Maybe one day we will pay reparations and perhaps do a great land redistribution with an affirmitive action plan driving it
And everyone who wants to sob about being marginalized I would suggest they go out of the country to somewhere where whites are the minority and from experience i can assure you that they arent as bleeding heart as they are here. Lets use common sense instead of nonsense and move in a direction that isnt going to turn us into a nation of limp wristed whiney nothings. At this rate we will need drones because we will be so weak as to fight wars in person.
To Jake and other male farmers; As you know it's both a blessing and a curse to have a farm handed down to you. Farming, agriculture and farms and wonderful and needed things even if they are grotesquely under-cutted, under-funded and misunderstood by our government and big business (which are one in the same these days). No one would belittle your family's part in farming history. But when your granddaddy was running the farm it was a very different world and prior to WWl women did not so much work outside the home or even have any control over our own destinies. Thankfully things have changed since then and all women are asking is that if they DO choose to farm (or run a bank, or become a scientist or politician or writer) is that we are accorded the SAME respect you would like to have, for hard work, innovation and honest farming. Farm work is too damn hard to end up slighting your equally hard working neighbor simply because she is a woman.
Well I have known a few Women Farmers/Rancher that never had such a complaint. Take it Back one did and she was hell with a pitchfork when chasing a man when she tried to steal irrigation water rights. She always hid behind the fact she was female to make her theft as her right. that was in the 1940s and 50s.
Why is it so important to a woman to get respect from men? That seems to mean that men's opinions are extremely important. I wouldn't give such honor to an oppressive majority group.
Really, a non-issue. Nobody's prohibiting any gender/race/religion from becoming a farmer. It is a matter of choice... not lack of opportunity.
Oh, great! Now the Franfurt School brainwashed lib activists are targeting farmers for their destructive attentions. All in the semingly benign wolf in sheep's clothing of whining about diversity and equality. Every major US urban area has been wrecked by their "progressive" efforts so now it's time to attack, undermine and destroy rural America as well. Odd, everything the libs try to "help" they destroy...education, the black family, marriage...soon we'll all be starving.
My great-grandfather owned a farm. He passed that farm down to his only son that wanted the business, teeing off his other children in the process but he wanted the farm to continue, not get chopped up by his 6 kids, so the only son that was working on the farm inherited the whole thing and that son left the farm to his only son, so on and so forth. Farms tend to get carried down the male line. Surely they all were married but wives of farmers work hard being the wives of farmers. It's a traditional life they live. So where are the female farmers, they are at home educating the children, cooking and cleaning. This maybe offensive to the working women, but some women are still just stay at home moms. As for minority farmers, let's not kid ourselves that farming is not an extremely expensive field to start out in. Those who've inherited land bought long ago when land was far cheaper are in a much better position to finance all the other equipment they need. Not to mention few minorities are flocking to very white rural communities. My bet many of those farm stats don't just count farmers in Iowa with 2000 acres of corn, but people in areas like CA that have 20 acres of oranges on their semi-rural estate.
You are so correct. Their stat include one farm one owner regardless of size. if you done it by acres farmed then the White ownership would be a much much higher percentage. now I did not mention Male or female here because most farmers today have the wife's name on the deed and maybe the kids as well to protect the farm from the Govt. big land grab also know as land redistribution by way of a heavy death tax. Yes the Wife and Kids do also work the Farm. I have seen many wives driving tractors and trucks at harvest and planting time when time is short a the work load heavy and won't wait
Great commercial, typical divisive article from CNN. When I hear farmer I'm not thinking along racial or sexist lines I thought it was a nice tip of the hat to those that are farmers no matter the race or sex of said farmer. I'm not narrow minded enough to think that only white hetro sexual Christian males are farmers but that is the demographic that is most attacked when they are represented.
This is America. You have the right to the pursuit of happiness. No guarantee that you will actually achieve what you are after, but you have the right to try.
If minority peoples in this country want to be farmers, then let them, and they will be.
But just because you don't see a whole slew of them don't mean that something is wrong.
"Where are all the minority farmers"?
Well you see, affirmative action doesn't apply to farming jobs and farming requires a very strong work ethic.
CNN likes to make everything a racial issue. Change the name to Weekly World News. That was always the most entertaining garbage to read.
Where are all of the "All White Schools" ect. Get over it if you want whites to!
I come from a small hispanic owned apple, peach, cherry and honey farm. we sell our local product to wholefoods and at the local farmers markets. We live in New Mexico, where every family has a garden of chile tomatoes and cucumbers etc... it is a great experience and our customers love us and our product. I am the tenth generation of famers in my family. my parents grew up poor and now our business is starting to take off, the only thing holding us back is getting more land! another obsticle is the racism we face EVERY year. we grow special varieties of apples and peaches and have a systematic way of growing our trees. we are the only peach growers in new mexico that prune our plants, and thin them out to get the desired size and quality of the produce. no one else does that and they often sell small, unripe fruit at the markets. they see our stuff and our regular customers and the anglo farmers out here get jealous and make accusations. we are inspected every year and do grow our produce. the bastards had the audacity to say we buy our produce and re sell it. when it was a few of them who were doing just that trying to monopolize the local farmers markets. They got caught, and they tried accusing the latino farmers of doing it. we got a senator to inspect our farm and when they seen we were legit she ordered us to not be hassled by ANY market or store again. Racism is there but those who work hard and use their head will make something great.
I still don't get CNN's obsession with race and sex.
When can we expect the "Nepalese in America" or the "Mongolian in America" specials?
You people seek to divide America. That's why your ratings are in the tank.
So true...CNN is not a bastion of journalistic integrity...as they portray themselves. Cover the real news instead of these pseudo-documentaries...whats next "Biracial in America" or "Pedophile in America". CNN is running out of ideas so it just creates "news." So sad and pathetic.
It's what we call education. The more you learn about others the less ignorance is spread, the greater our country.
It's not education. It's activism.
Education is learning how things are.
Activism is trying to change the way things are.
The dodge ad did not do bad in representing the agriculture industry. But, lets not bring attention to the minorities that are not in that industry. Lets bring attention to the amount of small farmers we have in general that are providing for this country compare to non farmers. How many people know one farmer?10? Not many, unless you are a farmer. Small farmers in general are declining, not just women and minority farmers. Many people are relying on industries to genetically modify, spray pesticides on and ship their food across the country. How healthy are the foods that you eat? Support the small farmers, become a small farmer and buy local if possible. Many small farmers grow organic, healthy and less costly foods. Grow tomatoes, jalopenos and/or mushrooms. Start small. They are easy to grow.
I saw the Dodge ad as incredibly ignorant. Describing a group that almost doesn't exist anymore with a speech from a time when they did. Followed by pictures of the inedible industrial monster that killed off the family farmer and pretending they were the same thing.
You are Kidding-Right? If not you seen a different commercial than I did. No it was not paul Harvey speaking but i remember him well on the Radio and yes It was real and just as appropriate today as in 1950.
What about the Amish? I didn't see them represented at all. And Orthodox Jewish farmers? Surely there is at least one Orthodox Jewish farmer in America, they should have put him or her in the ad as well.
And I'm pretty sure I remember Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie being farmers. They could have been in the ad wearing bikinis and washing the farm trucks.
I'm guessing the Amish are not on the short list for consumers of Dodge trucks or Superbowl ads. But I could be wrong.
Come on, a black guy up before 7am? Yeah right! And besides, vegetables and milk are covered on food stamps!
That was a very racist comment. I'm an African American (Black) male and I wake up before 7AM everyday. Actually I am out of my door by 7 to be at an University by 0730. I actually do like to grow my own food. Right now I am preparing the soil for by garden. Composting. How can race be involved in this? There are numerous amounts of people (all races) who sleep in and wake up around noon. Your comment was only of pure ignorance and only supports racism instead of wanting to end it.
Well, if you wonder how race is involved in farming check out what black "farmers" did to agriculture production in Zimbabwe after they evicted racist white Rhodesians from their farms.
Dang, people still do not get it! You are no better. This still does not explain it how race became involved? Your comment only confirms how you or/and others still carry those prejudices. Do white farmers act like angels? No one is perfect. And I can only hope that you were educated enough to not believe a certain race have power or should have power over another.
But if you really want to argue, lets go back about 200 years ago in the U.S.? Who did most of the farming then? Certainly not the people you are praising. They sat on their butts and watched others do it for them. Sounds familiar yet? Kind of reminds me of some of today's farmers techniques, hiring immigrants for cheap labor to work on their farms. While they sit on their butts.
People, the moral is race does not matter. There are not as many farmers today as there were 50 years ago and people of all races and minorities farm. All races performed bad acts throughout history to other groups. Lets not highlight these incidents and bring hatred to one another.
Where do our bananas come from?
The questions that we want to ask and answer are:
Why is farming declining?
Is it because of conviences?
Maybe because over 2/3 of our population is overweight?
This list can go on?
Oh, yes BEE, and it was those white farmers sitting on their butts who fought a civil war ( with over 600,000 dead) to free those black slaves, you know, the black slaves originally enslaved by their black brothers in Africa. Oh and btw white colonialists eventually stopped slavery in Africa, too, which Africans themselves would never have done. Sorry, to remind you of some glaring facts about black history.
Ted, You are not helping the situation either. I'm not here to have a debate over slavery but here to explain that farming in general is declining. Some people ( including yourself) are so quick to come up with racists comments before thinking. Not only did Africans enslave people, but the majority of the world had slaves that were of their nationality. In your terms, that means white had slaves as well. Also, Blacks fought in the civil war as well.
Lets get back to the topic of this journal entry: Farming. People in general need to start growing a few crops. Maybe a tomato or mushrooms.
That was crap, John. Even IF you knew better, but thought you were just making a joke, your comment showed you to have crap for brains. BTW, I'm white. I grew up in Leesville, La., the most hate-filled racist and ignorant place on the planet, and I traveled the world, fought for my country, got an advanced education, and UN-learned the racist stereotypes. I suggest you get out, get some real-world education, and grow a brain.
Thank you,
This subject is complicated and there were many more minority farmers and minorities who want to be farmers. A systematic shut out of minority farmers asking for loans that white farmers were getting with the same credit resulted in a lawsuit which was won by said minorities.
Also, like on reservations there were systematic scheme's to cheat people out of their land.
There are lazy a$$ people in all ethnic groups but a majority of people from diverse ethnic groups work hard under difficult situations trying to get ahead.
just another ignorant racist, that's all you proven here with your comment
I grew up on a farm and was in the farm support business for many years, I watched women and minorities enter and leave the business, some succeeded some did not. the ones that did succeed did so because they were willing to work the long demanding hours that it takes to make a farm work. Those that thought it was just another job and refused to put in the long hours and hard work did not.
Don't get too worked up over the female/minority issue because it doesn't matter anyway. The estate taxes in place 1 January, 2013, courtesy of Obama himself, will guarantee the demise of the family farm. What family farm will survive a 55% death tax?
You mean the taxes in place because the repub house refuses to pass anything.
I am a white female in a farming industry. I work as a researcher. The thing is I completely understand where you are coming from. Granted, I am on the research ends of things, but I get treated in a different light then my husband does in the same position in the same industry. I am also 27 yrs old, which does not help matters. My field is a highly dominated field by men. I am slowly carving out a place for me, but I still have barriers to over come.
good luck to you sister.
To be a farmer you have to do something that is strange to a lot of people.....work!
The great thing about farming is that there is no barrier keeping blacks or females or whoever from owning and operating farms. Well, other than money, land, and equipment. This article sucks for a lot of reasons already mentioned, but here are a few more reasons:
- Farming is passed down (usually from generation to generation) – land and equipment. I'm guessing blacks didn't own a lot of land for the last 100 years for obvious reasons.
- To say females and blacks are not doing farming is not the greatest of reporting on a topic – like one mentioned above, there are predominately blacks and mexicans working the fields, again for obvious reasons...and if you don't "get" those obvious reasons, crack a history book or turn on CNN.
- As for females, I think most women are smart enough to NOT be farmers. It's an unglamourus and thankless job...I'm sure women don't mind being farmers wives, but you're not going to find to many women who run farms on thier own, by choice, and are looking to settle down with a nice city boy. That's not real life.
Stupid article.
Some good points. I grew up on a farm in western Kansas. The simple fact is that farming is not an industry that you can come in at an "entry level" job and end up owning the company! Most of the midwest was settled by caucasians of european descent, In my case, mostly German. The LAND (this is a key!) has been passed down in the families. It would be very difficult for someone to come in, buy land and equipment, and make a go of it. Can it be done? Maybe, but no one in their right mind would do it!
I can understand being upset by not being taken seriously. If someone is running her own hog farm and making it work – good for her! . However, dont think that the simple fact that the majority of farmers tend to be white males with traditional families means it's bad. The marriage tends to be a partnership that has worked for centuries. I know that if minorities were able to obtain land and be good neighbors, they would be welcomed over time. My experience with farmers is that they tend to worry more about your character than the color of your skin.
I know many that came in at entry level and took land that was not even arable, had build canals and ditches with their own money and work and then claimed and farmed the land. Yes they were white Families of many backgrounds and ethnic backgrounds yet, they worked together to accomplish what needed to be done. My Family was among them in 1900. I was born on that land in 1936.
Many women, black, Native American and other minority farmers were denied the USDA support provided to white farmers and quite a few lost their property or businesses. That is FINALLY being resolved thanks to the current Sec of Agriculture putting a halt to the decades long stalling with settlements (look up Pigford). Good for him!
Bull! USDA has nothing to say about it! Tell me just how USDA stopped minorities from farming! It will be an interesting story.
It's quite simple. Most of the arable land was already owned by white people when the emancipation proclamation was signed. It might be unfair, but it'd be equally unfair to punish the people of today who had nothing to do with that situation.
Not so about land after the Civil war. Millions of acres of land was available in the west, good land with States giving it out free, or almost free as homesteads. My family got land because they went as pioneers in 1900, yes 19 by wagon train to northern Wyoming where they had to first dig a very long canal to provide water, then they were given all the land between the canal and the river to farm It took two years to build with horses and scrapers with a lot of manpower. Yes they were all white male. Following WW II a great deal of land in the west went to Veteran Homesteaders who were selected by drawing of those that signed up. they came to Wyoong and were provide with land and education in the fine art of farming and govt. loans for equipment. All they had to do was live on and work the land for, I think 7 Years and then it was theirs. Most that came were White Males although it was open to all Veterans. This scene has been played out hundred or thousands of times in the Western USA. Even today, more and more land is coming under irrigation using sprinkler systems, still it is mostly White males that take the chance and do the very hard work for very long hours everyday. I seem to remember History that when the slaves were freed they were given 4o acres and a Mule or some sort of thing, How much of that land is still in their families hands? Did they just sell it back to the White farms from whom it was taken? Farming is hard work. I left the farm to go into Technology but my heart is still with the Farmers and Ranchers of the Western USA. Don't put them down as nothing comes easy in that industry. If Minorities are not players it is their own fault s they were not discriminated against in the 20th century West. Thy rarely even came there. I was about 14 years old before I ever seen a Black person. None came and applied for jobs on farms or as Ranch hands. People from Mexico came every summer to work on the farms, Back Breaking work I might add but they did not stay, they went back to Mexico soon as the crops were in. never seen them work as Ranch hands though. The Ram truck Add was spot on.
Jerseyguy36,
I suggest you check your history. As I stated before some blacks were given land by slave owners. Usually after they raped their slave women and tried to leave something for the illegitmate. Then only to have their white offspring come and take the land back by running them off with violence or threatening to sell them back into slavery, especially the south which did not uphold the law of the land regarding ending slavery in 1863. They kept it going. Farming is hard work, my grandfather owned his farm in KY. And for those of you and your underlining racism with "farming is hard work" it amazes me that when it comes to back breaking jobs in this country, ethnic groups are considered lazy when they are the only ones I see who would do the hard work in any industry. The first thing a caucasion does when it comes to delegating a degrading job that requires sweat is find a black person.
Oh my, you are a racist, You never responded at al to the crux of my post instead of using the opportunity to make racist remarks. You bet Farming is back breaking work and as for minorities working on farms, I have worked right along side of them doing the exact same backbreaking work and getting the same exact pay. I have crawled on my hands an knees up and down rows of sugar beets both hoeing to remove the weed and blocking to properly space the plants. I have hoed the Bean fields and picked the beans right along side of Hispanic workers so don't tell me about it, Funny though I never seen any Black workers out in those fields. as a rule, Black farm workers do about 1/2 the work of a Hispanic worker. When land was available to all Veterans I don't recall any Black applicants, I seen many because I was employed as an assistant instructor while still in High School to tech these Vets Shop and welding skills. Why don't the Black Minority take some advice from Bill Cosby. You go look it up as it is good reading material for those that constantly see themselves as victims. You are not a Slave nor your Parents or Grandparents so get off of it now. No one in my family ever had a slave so stop the victim crap. There are many farms small and large for sale so go buy one and go to work.
How Dare you even act like you're not a racist? I'm a black young women and no we didn't get 40 acres and a mule. None of that really matters, cause a lot of people are so selfish. This article is to bring back awareness to the original way of life as far as food. Slavery is a thing of the past, our president is Black, our Hispanic friends are here, and no man alive that can change that. I admire the blonde farmer who I'll nick name blonde who has the fight in her to keep dominating a male trade.. I love to see good people advance! a lot of people have big brains and small minds, but I don't see that stopping her...
No this article is about the Commercial for Dodge Ram Trucks. Then it turned to weather or not it fairly depicted the racial makeup of American Farmers. It Does! Although that is still not about the target market for the Commercial. Someone above me declared that all the land was gone by the time that Slavery ended! I challenged that by pointing out that Much of the farm land in the USA had not yet been farmed and that, yes Ex Slaves were given 40 acres and a mule, All veterans at the end of WW II had equal chance of being awarded Homesteads in the Rocky Mountain west and other places where they came, Yes came because I was already there, and became Farmers and ranchers with the land given them on condition they live on and work the land for 7 years. Pretty good deal if you ask me. The govt. provided training and low interest loans for equipment. When my family went there in 1900 They were (as part of a large group) given all the land they could bring under irrigation in a particular part of Wyoming. To do this they first had to build long canal at their own expense and with their own hard labor. When it was finished the land was divided amongst the settler according to the work they had done to complete the canal. This is how the west was settled long after the civil war. This method of setting up farms was quite common out west. This was in no way Racist s you seem to think. Hell, I never seen a Black person until I was 14 years old. I was born in 1936 and lived in a two room log house with no running water, electricity sewer, gas etc. just two rooms and an outhouse. we raised most of our own food. This is not history to me but rather the story of my Families life. So why would you call me a racist? Last I checked, today, there are still many farms large and small for sale in the Western USA so go buy a farm and go to work at least 16 hours a day 7 days a week, maybe only 8 on Sunday. HolidayS are just another day as the work still has to be done every day. The crops need water, the animals need feed, the cows must be milked, the crops planted and harvested when ready, not when you are.I thought the commercial was a great tribute to the American farmers and ranchers. You are the one making racist remarks!
Actually Caiha, you would be surprised at the number of slaves who were given some of the land by their owners. Sadly, the white offspring and/or other whites would intimidate blacks and run them off the land with violence. As for these white ancestors who always claim to not be responsible for what their savage family members did, yet benefit greatly through wealth of the land. I find your denial mind blowing and pathetic.
I find it interesting that this article talks almost exclusively about primary owner/operators when mentioning minorities as a % of workers in the industry. I wonder if you looked at the whole of agricultural laborers, might you have a different picture of the break-downs? Yes, the males versus females was addressed in aggregate, but not the race question. I suspect that's because when you look at people in agriculture as a whole, many more of them are minorities than described in this article. Now you may still find that to be a disparity between owners and laborers, but leaving it out altogether seems to leave the article seriously incomplete.
Please.... I didn't have two days to read all the comments so I don't know if anyone mentioned this. If they did, I will mention it again. Dodge was not paying homage to the farmers, they were not doing a sociological retrospective of farming, nor were they attempting to placate Americans with a well rounded representation of who is and who is not a farmer.
DODGE WAS TRYING TO SELL TRUCKS TO A MARKET WHERE THEY TRAIL FORD AND CHEVY BY A HUGE GAP!!! It was a commercial and it struck a chord with exactly who they were targeting. The "average" farmer.
I was gritting my teeth trying to give this "peice" every chance I could, until I got to the "even though Paul Harvey evoked a higher power I don't worship". The sun rose in the east this morning. Do you have a complaint about that too? As a South Dakota native, I can explain to you that farming tends to be a family thing, handed through the generations. The early farmers were pioneers of European descent. The men worked in the fields while the women kept the household together - a job as demanding as working in the fields. The Africans who were brought here as slaves migrated to the cities upon emancipation. The Mexicans who migrated across the border didn't have the resources to start their own farms. And by the way, the ad didn't feature any LGBT farmers either. Which leaves you with an ad featuring mostly white men. Every time I think it can't get more obnoxious on CNN, it does. Get a life, Ms. Prichard.
Bravo! I grew up in farm country during the 50s to 70s and married into a farming FAMILY. That's right – a FAMILY. Maybe on paper, it says the white man "runs" the farm, but in reality the whole family runs the farm. In a couple of families, made up mostly of females, EVERYONE worked the farm and actually had control over some part of the farm. So maybe Dad collected the money and paid most of the bills, the women in the family worked just as hard – feeding the cattle, plowing the fields, and so on. An when the male "owner" of the farm dies, does the farm stop or have to be sold? NO! Most of the time the wife continues the job. Look a little deeper – there are many farms run by women and minorities. The problem sometimes just comes down to who signs the papers that are filed with the government (and we all know that farmers don't like to tell the government everything.)
I find this article an embarassment and waste of space on CNN's website. Farming as a profession, is a choice; one not based on race, gender, or age. It is an extremely difficult and time consuming profession, in which I believe 90% of the 'victims' you refer to, would not live up to the expectations. But bring in the government, find some affirmative action excuse to have them hired....it's what our country does every single day.
To Leigh – I have to disagree. Working on a farm may be a simple yes/no choice or preference, but owning one is not always that simple. Land is frequently passed down through families, or else a person needs capital (money) to buy land. This means that those whose families have always owned land (which can go back to the times when some races were enslaved in this country) are probably more likely to own land today. Additionally, socioeconomic disparities by race are still substantial in this country, meaning that even today, fewer minorities would have the means to purchase land that has not been passed down. Since this article is primarily addressing owners/operators (not other laborers), I think there may be some validity to questioning minority representation levels in the industry.
Hobby farmers like Diane, the author of this piece, make real farmers grin and shake their heads. Minority farmers, the real ones, are too busy working to be offended by a television commercial or fill out social questionnaires.
And yes, a couple hundred head a year is a hobby farm. A big hobby farm but a hobby farm nontheless.
I do water testing for local wells, rivers and ponds. I talked to a lady who was doing some well water testing. After talking to her a while, she really knew her stuff. I asked hr where she got her experience and she said she owns 48 wells on her "several" ranches.....these women farmer/ranchers ARE out there. (I told her I was up for adoption, but that didn't work ;-)
Loved your opinion piece and if your curious enough then google the lost generation of black farmers. I had the privilege of finding out what wiped the "black farmer" out of existence. I saw the dodge commercial and I felt the same way, but at least I knew my history, and information. So it didn't really bother me why there were no black farmers in that commercial to be honest there are none really left. But the one's that are around and still farming, are all generational farmers they just didn't start farming a year ago they come from former slaves who owned their own land and farmed it. See it's not what you know, it's what you can prove. And I do believe CNN ran a story about the black farmer a while ago very good documentary for those who wonder, or care to wonder about it.
Also not every black person in America owns a Obama phone, nor is standing in front of a government owned building entitled "section 8". Some of the world's billion dollar corporations are ran by black people .. i.e Mcdonalds, American Express, Xerox Corp just to name a few. So please don't judge a % of us and think that we all live like that. I love and support all my people in the struggle from every walk of life. No one went against FDR when he put in government assistance during the depression era so to do it now is just slander. Be upset with history before you bring it into the present.
So you think that Whites are immune from being chased off of their land. Why not read the History of US President Buchanan sent the US Army to Utah to remove the Mormon settlers and take their land! Take a look a few years earlier when Those same people in Utah were chased from their land in Illinois and Missouri with Government consent, then back a little more when the Governor of Missouri, Boggs I believe, Ordered the Mormon Farmers to be Exterminated. That was 1838. The order was official in affect until 1976 when it was lifted by Governor Bond. Go read that History if you will. These white folks continued on and now are a driving force in America and don't go around crying Victim at every turn. These same people stared thousands of farms on land previously thought un farmable. I just get tired of some minorities in America crying victim for things that happened over 150 years ago and had nothing to do with the current crop, many most who do not even have a slave relative. It sure is convenient to claim though to garner sympathy and provide an excuse for personal failures in life. Man Up and get to work and stop crying.
Why the assault on other women? Just because they don't embrace the same things you do they are still decent and respectable people. Perhaps you should stop fixating on gender, you're a farmer, embrace farmers. When it comes down to it as mind boggling as it might seem each of us makes our own decisions in life, and the decisions we make are influenced by our support structure, and our parent or parents.
I'll point to a study done by U of Maryland students, a group of them in an effort to help people they viewed as "disadvantaged" took up an effort to get area farmer's markets to accept food stamps. Sounds awesome right? Well the students worked with farmers markets and got them to invest in the technology required to use the stamps and met with those dependent upon food stamps teaching them the virtues of fresh fruits and vegetables. Then they waited to see the miraculous changes they were sure would take place. They actual result? Not one food stamp was ever used at a farmers market. Now you might think that perhaps minorities weren't welcome at the farmers market – that is you not me, for I know that in fact minorities frequent the farmers markets. No there was no single answer as to why after all the effort put in to help the "disadvantaged" improve themselves, it came down to individual decisions.
It really bothers me that people have taken an excellent commercial and broken it down into statistics. I would bet that the team who pulled together this advertisement spent a great deal of time and effort in making sure various ethnicities were depicted. With the variety of agriculture grown in this country, and the variety of people growing it, how can we expect a company to represent everything and everyone? The commercial was touching and it was real – and it's certainly one of the most talked about ads of the night. That commercial created the one and only moment of complete and utter silence at the Super Bowl party my husband and I attended. Great job, Dodge and National FFA – hats off to you for having the guts to dedicate 2 minutes to farmers and for declaring 2013 "The Year of the Farmer". Keep Plowing.
She's kinda cute for a Hog farmer. If she doesnt start calving soon her independent operation will be sold to the Corporate farms after she's gone.
Where about in Michigan are you? It sure isn't in the Thumb area. My wife and I have been farming for 35 years. She is part owner of this farm. I know a lot of farmers around here and many of their wives are listed as the actual owners or partners. These wives work just like the guys: out in the cattle pens, on the tractors, in the combine, and on. Most if them take care of the books, too.
As far as minorities go, ask them why they don't farm. Nothing is stopping them. One does NOT have to have forefathers to farm. I know a lot of these types of folks around here, too...myself included.
While I agree that farming is extremely hard work for the farm women as well,but, I think we all need to be honest as to why most wives name is on the Deed is because of the dastardly inheritance tax in the USA along with other tax issues.
Seriously people...I can't believe all this nonsense. America is made up of all types of folks, accept it!! I am Hispanic, and that commercial was so touching to me. But then again, serving my country for 22 years, I don't see people by their color, race, or origin, I see them as what their citizenship is: American or from another country.
It frustrates me that people are so whinny about something so special. STOP IT ALREADY!
And on the side, Mr. Obama, please stop singling out the Hispanics by making speeches in English and Spanish. Believe it or not, most legal Hispanics that voted, DO SPEAK, READ, and WRITE English. And it would be shocking for some to know that some Hispanics don't speak Spanish. Another issue I have with it, is that the immigration reforms would affect ALL types, not just Hispanics, I am sure there are foreign from other countries in the hiding waiting for the immigration law to pass.
To the American citizens, I say, Let’s focus on the real issues:
- Parenting- own up to your responsibilities as a parent, ensure your child is doing good to others.
- Bring back the standards to our Country (stop sagging pants, stop wearing pajamas outside your home, and go to work)!
There is more but this is not the forum for it.
Point blank-Appreciate that the truck Company thought of the farmers, my hats off to them, if you didn’t like it, then make your own commercial or don’t watch it, that’s it!
and yes, I am an American that sacrificed for your freedom for 22 years, and still working.
Completely agree with you, Lorena. Thank you for your perspective and for your service.
Great comment about some Hispanics not speaking Spanish. A local family has been in the US for at least 3 generations, but when their child was moved into a new school, he was placed in the English as a second language class and the poor kid was lost. The class was speaking Spanish and he didn't understand a word of it. Just because someone looks a certain way or has an Hispanic name, does not make them an alien.
The School administrators should be fired on the spot for such a blatant display of racism in our Schools.
Proof that people have to much time on their hands and too many forums to be heard. The commercial targets a certain demographic. Marketing. stfu and get over it.
Why not set up a coop on farming for women where you can share ideas and advice? It seems like you've found an opportunity and not so much a reason to lament.
http://www.cvent.com/events/women-in-agribusiness-summit-2013/event-summary-d6389c14ce3d475d918ed2db29a27843.aspx
This sounds more like the conference you're looking for.
It seems I disagree with many of my friends on this one (Kelly, Darin, Jan at SlowMoney).
As a female farmer myself, we probably have a lot in common, Diana. I didn't inherit a a farm, I also decided to become a farmer. I agree that some people in agriculture are (in my experience, mostly unintentionally) sexist, but it only makes my successes that much more rewarding. Maybe the dairy industry is different from the swine industry.
I don't get your glass ceiling comment. What glass ceiling? How can there be such a thing when you are your own boss? The only ceiling I grapple with every day is a financial one, and women and minorities are often given some advantage in that area over men. Once the money is taken care of, I earn people's respect with skill, confidence and most of all, tenacity. Being a woman often makes me a minority in the room, but so what? I don't need to be surrounded by other women to feel comfortable ro respected.
I am especially offended by your comments about married women in agriculture. I, too, absolutely despise when women identify primarily through their husbands. I consider myself a feminist. When I get married in a few months, I am keeping my own last name. My fiance has little to do with farming, and we have actually had arguments because I want to keep it that way. I am so fearful that if he becomes involved, everyone will assume he is the primary "farmer" and I won't get any credit. That is a huge part of why I am keeping my own last name – to reinforce my independence and not lose the identity in the industry that I have built for myself.
Despite that fear, I do see so many relationships in which the husband and wife are both equally "farmers" - do those fall into the 84% that classified as being run by males? I honestly don't know. Is there a category for "equal marriage partnership"?
Your comments made it seem like just because those women have farmer husbands, they are not real farmers. I wasn't there, I didn't hear what they said, and maybe that is not how you meant to come across at all. But as a soon-to-be-married feminist farmer, you seem to be perpatrating the sexism that I am so afraid of: assuming that if the husband is involved in the farm, then he is in charge of the farm and that now that woman is "just" a famer's wife - rahter than a botha farmer's wife AND a farmer herself.
Elinor,
Good thoughts. I don't know what a "glass ceiling" looks like when you are your own boss either. But whatever it is, whatever we want to call it, I think one way it shows up is with your fear that somehow, if your husband becomes involved in some way, that for many, he will be looked to as the "farmer". That's a problem, but it's a problem that having women like yourself and Diana involved in our industry I believe we will change!
Hi Elinor!
I guess my mindset in this situation is that, there are plenty of capable women out there. (I consider you one of them, whole-heartedly. I think you know this, though...and I don't want this to turn into a girly gush fest about how awesome I think you are.) I think there's a valid point to establish here that you've kind of touched on - even within the minorities, there is a vast set of diversity.
We have farm wives, we have female farmers, we have married couples who equally share the work on the farm. I think the biggest thing I have is that, making noise about how folks aren't giving minorities due attention isn't always the right way to go. Sometimes just in the DOING earns that regard. I mean, this goes back to some of our favorite advocacy points - no one wants to be told who they should appreciate, but people tend to be a lot more receptive when you SHOW them.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, yes - the minority farmers (black, hispanic, female, etc.) are a vital part of our agriculture system. I love the diversity. I love that more and more of my young women friends are stepping into traditionally-male roles in agriculture and totally revolutionizing the way things are done. But that change in public perception won't happen overnight, and sometimes the best thing we can do is DO. I hope this doesn't come off as offensive, because that's not my intention. If anything I guess what I'm saying is, keep on what you're doing. You are a strong, upstanding, outstanding woman who won't let pre-conceived notions of farming, agriculture, and farmers shape your opinion or your dreams. THAT is what I'd like to see more in these situations, rather than raucous cries for more attention and representation.
This went a lot longer than I intended. Whoops. We can talk more about it on Facebook, because I feel like I'm probably not making my point well and I'd rather have a one-on-one with a friend so we can sort out and misunderstanding and move forward. Thanks for speaking up!
Wow! You are one insecure woman. Glad you are not going to be my wife. Are yo afraid that he might see you for what you really are!
We did some farming when I was a kid. Mostly, it was about dirt, dung, bad luck and other good reasons to join the Navy. (I've never been a woman but I don't think I'd like that either.) So I have a lot of respect for Ms. Prichard and the difficulties she faces in making a living while improving food quality. That"s an unusual combination of guts & integrity... and another minority category.
I need to point out that the backdrop for this page is pure white. Minorities post on CNN too. Why does it have to be white, CNN ? Why not do a black or brown backdrop ? Oh well, at least all of the letters being posted on here are black. That's a start, I guess.
I feel there isn't nearly enough minority librarians. Also, I feel more minorities need to get into the mailbox industry. They could make designs for mailboxes just as well as their white counterparts. More minority gopher hunters would be appreciated as well.
They are at the welfare office on their Obamaphones waiting to pick up our plundered property (their checks). Then they can return home to more of our plundered property (Section 8 housing). You expect people who don't get up til after 12 to be a farmer? What pie-in-the-sky liberal tripe! She must be farming and using some of that illegal product! I guess there is no end to BS. Time for next sob story on why only 9% of MLB players are black. Funny, you never see a story on why only 5% of NBA players are white.
I do not know many who could even stand the rigors of farming.
I can and have. I come from countless generations of farmers and do just as well as any of my ancestors before me. Just because one is female does not mean one cannot farm.
I think she meant "many" to be society as a whole, not females.
Seriously? People have nothing better to do than complain that actors in a commercial don't look like them? My advice then would be to seek out a farming job (or a ranching job), because you probably won't have spare energy to carry around angst over things such as this. I live in Illinois – part of the breadbasket of America and I'm a good bit older than this writer. To my knowledge, no one has ever closed off farming to any sex or race so far as I'm aware. Typically the men are the farmers due to the heavy machinery repairs and such that are needed, but never underestimate the value of a farm wife who has spent a lifetime working alongside her husband all the while raising a family. The women have no problems running the same equipment as the men, and often do – and they're not nearly as full as themselves as this writer.
This writer lives and works, "at the intersection of the alternative food movement and the reality of modern agriculture". What?! Oh, for crying out loud. How prosetic.
Well for Minorities it is the fact that they got into the land ownership a bit late. Waking up one day and deciding you are going to buy a section of land and farm implements and become a farmer isn't feasible. It would take millions. Farmers are people whose families before them farmed and already owned their farm ground. As far as women being farmers it is their choice if their fathers were farmers I am sure some do but most would rather not because of the nature of the work.
You know, not all females cringe at the thought of breaking a nail.
There is a measure of truth in this. Pinterest is supposedly over 90% female. Pins of pretty clothes and nail polish and shoes make up a larger percent than pins of tractors. Except those couple pink ones that float around. Of all my immediate neighbors my entire life – the women that even gardened or tended their yards was less than 1%. It's back breaking labor that even a small amount of men will willingly venture. By "even" I mean that men are physically stronger than 99.95% of women and most of them would rather talk about work than do it also.
This girl undoubtedly hires laborers.
You really have to read between her lines – she is insulted because people don't look like her. The maximum penalty for bigotry goes to the author of this dribble. Face it honey, the world is full of people who don't look just like you.
I dunno, as far as minorities are concerned, at least AA minorities, it seems to be cultural as much as anything. An indicator would be the number of AA's interested in plants and flowers and landscaping. I know here it seems like the first thing then do on moving into a house is cut down all the shrubs and any tree that looks like it might take some care. Had one down the road cut down an absolutely *gorgeous* waterfall style Japanese acer that had to have been a $2000 tree. My neighbor is an exception to this very generalized rule, but even he seems to be getting weary of maintaining it all instead of finding pride of accomplishment in healthy plants and a well-tended yard.
I am a 1st generation farmer AND a woman. I find your comment completely insulting & unsupported.
You can actually wake up one day and decide to chase your dreams of providing quality food, product to the masses. Neither my father or my grandfather were farmers, no one in my family has ever worked in the Ag industry. The nature of the work has nothing to do with it.
Like I said, I am a woman & 1st generation farmer and I am damn proud.
Brianna, I want to high five you.
Thank you Kelly! *high five*
Wrong wrong wrong assumptions. This was also directed at those who work on farms. Caucasians may be the principal owners, but a good majority of the workers are minorities, with women taking a commanding lead in the equine field as well. I think the numbers you used to say that Dodge overrepresented minorities do not take into effect people working on these farms who are not owners. I would say here down in South Texas, about 1 in 3/4 truck owners are hispanic, even if they're not farmers, they like the tough farmer image which it brings them, which is what I think this ad was really geared towards.
My guess is you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Sometimes percentages don't and can't be made to "even out." The farming industry cannot be check listed to fit into idealistic, even parameters to sooth the ruffled feathers of minority groups who for whatever reason do not participate. If you want more minority farmers, they'll have to get out there and get their hands dirty, and don't say they don't have the resources. Our federal government funds a network of agency offices to assist minority farmers if they are interested. Call your local Farm Service Agency, USDA service center and see what's available. Not only to they offer funding assistance, they have spent a lot of time and YOUR money setting up Minority and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers Assistance (MSDA) and the USDA Minority Farm Register, not to mention the Start2Farm program, developed to assist beginning farmers or ranchers or those who have less than 10 years experience, Start2Farm includes programs and resources from federal and state agencies, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations including grassroots organizations.
Thanks Diana for pointing at the the ad didn't only portray farmers as white males like myself. When I watched the ad I just thought it was great for agriculture and nice to see my profession highlighted on such a big stage. Never once did it occur to me that the ad would be offensive to anyone until someone else brought it up first. But in this day in age it seems we can't just take a nice sentiment and let it be. Someone always has to tear down this kind of thing and make it into something it's not nor was intended to be.
I doubt it was intended as the writer is portraying, but some comments here are just plain offensive, farming is usually a family affair, and entire family works hard, including children, posting that farm women don’t work hard, or if you are a black farmer you don’t work hard is laughable,.
Yeah I saw that comment about hard work. Not worth giving it anymore time.
Someday we Americans will become so politically correct we'll be afraid to list our place of birth for fear we might offend someone.
Brian, that is how society is today. Everyone wants to blame everyone for their problems. There is a lot of envy and hate out there and I think those that don't have what others do are pretty angry about it. Sometimes I feel like minorities hate white males just because they are white males. Ironic how racism is on the other end now to. Sad really.
We'd give ypu 40 acres and a mule but you'd complain the Mule wasn't ethnoculturally enlighted in the Marxist Feminist Dialectic.
You may be Handhelp, but I doubt you are a farmer, not a real one anyway..
If I actually took the time out of my day to count how many minorities were in a commercial, I'm prett sure I would just take the bridge because it would be an obvious sign that I'm not very far away from living in a house with 214 cats.
Typical CNN opinion piece. I'm so tired of hearing about the lack of minority head coaches, farmers, umbrella salesmen, joggers, etc. Just say what you mean. Man up. Stop hiding behind cowardly rhetoric and just say what you really want to say. The overwhelming majority of us aren't stupid. We know what you're thinking. You absolutely despise anything dominated by white men. Just say it, for Christ sake. Just say that you want all sports, jobs, politics, commercials, etc dominated by minorities. This is the obvious objective in current day America. It's ultra trendy to be anti white male, and it pays huge dividends if a white woman leads the charge ; because somehow, someway, white women have convinced the masses that they too, are victims of the evil white mans oppression. In fact, affirmative action has benefited white women more than any other group on the planet. So say what you really mean. You're attempting to score points and will use white men as a means to achieve your goal. The end.
I'm not sure that you read the article...
I think he definitely read the article. you're just too much of a coward to admit the truth or are living in denial like the rest of the country. Like I posted earlier, racism against white males is every bit as strong as other forms of racism. It's just not politically correct to admit it.
Stupendous!!!
I am a white female and I totally agree.
I thought the commercial was great, beautifully highlighted the ag industry. Ad not once did i look at the commercial for it's ethnic diversity. It was about the ag industry, not what colors of people God created to put into farming. Seriously, who gives a sh!t. And if you do give one, get a life. If you focused more on your job and how to improve yourself, rather than improve others around you, you would be more satisfied in life. Everybody running around trying to fix others, why not just fix your self and worry about yourself?
Farming is hard and you have to put in a lot hours. Something blacks and woman wont do. Sorry but its the truth.
John Obviously you are not a farmer, and if you are, then you have your head stuck in the wrong place, I grew up around farmers, many dairy farmers, and writing women and others don’t work hard is the most stup1d comment I ever heard, and is not true, Farming is usually a family business where the entire family participates and on thing you have got right is very hard work, Growing up I helped my friend with shores and started at 4:AM by 8:00 AM we were almost done, and getting ready for breakfast, then at 4:00 PM the same thing again, did I mention we had school in between?
John, follow me around for a day and see how wrong you are–assuming you can keep up that is.
I am a woman and I own and operate my farm. I would like you to come work with me for one day. I highly doubt you would be able to keep up.
Your comment is so sad & ignorant to me.
Most women on arms work just as hard and maybe longer hours than the Men Folk! Just a fact that I can tell you from first hand knowledge. I have an Aunt who's Husband died young and she took over and run the ranch for many years until her oldest son could take the reins. Believe me, my aunt was one tough cookie. My own Mother was tough and could out ride most men on the range. I could name many others, relatives and non relatives, It was and still is common on our Family farms and ranches. There are, as the article points out very Few African Americans that do this kind of work for a living for whatever reasons you want to believe, but facts are facts and not racist. As Farm and Ranch hands, Hispanics were and are extremely hard workers and there are more Hispanic Farmer/ ranchers than African American and far more Farm workers.
I dislike the mentality at play here. I don't know why farming isn't treated as a business by people.
Where are the minority and female farm business owners? should be the question asked. The answer becomes more clear then. Women and minorities have always done poorly statistically in american enterprise because white men got in on the ground floor. This is why affirmative action was enacted.
Nonsense. They have every ability to be a farmer if they want. Affirmative action is as racist as it gets btw.
WHY do you think there's been a bill stalled to pay AA farmers for the land taken from them by the Ag Dept when it was run by ..... privileged white males? At one time there was a HUGH population of AA farmers but racist policies a/k/a institutional racism stole their farms from them and the future generations. Read a real history book and "edjakate" yourself.
So are you suggesting every White male gets a leg up when they decide to start a business? Are you really that naive? There's no special "white-male business fund" that we can dip into to start a business. Many many many more white males try to start businesses and many more than other minorities or genders fail to succeed. It's a simple numbers game. The more who try, the more in absolute numbers who succeed. These types of articles make me jaded and only further encourages a divide between races and genders by labeling each.
Bull, non pun intended! Just more excuses. Like I told someone else here, there are many Farms and Ranches large and small for sale right now, take a chance, invest and buy one and go to work and you can have your own business. Stop whining about others that have done just that!. Just Google "Farm land Sale" add the state you are interested in and see the property for sale! Go for here is you big chance to be your own boss! Remember, Hard work, long hours hot weather, cold weather and few days off. Have fun!
bull
Did you bother to check the racial make up of the enrollments in agriculture focused curriculum's or perhaps interview a Dean or Professor at one of our many esteemed agriculture Universities? You don't actually want an answer, you're not asking a question, simply making accusations. There are no barriers to being a farmer – buy land and put in the hard time, it takes that and likely a strong family support structure, something the currently embraced "baby mama" culture of inner cities doesn't develop.
This article is an attempt to vilify a whole community of people and why? because it's now politically correct, isn't it? So begins the assault on farmers of America.
Thank you Steve. You summed it up well. As a farmer, I see exactly what it takes to get in and be successful. One of my friends got into farming on his own three years ago, with nothing handed to him. He borrowed money, found land to rent, and worked his rear off every day. And guess what? He is doing well now for himself. To make it in this business, there has to be sacrifice, long hours, and hard work. It's not a glamorous job by any means. You have to love it to do it.
There is a unstated believe in Urban America that farming is for the uneducated laborers of the world who don't have or want an education in anything more challenging. Boy are they wrong! I don't know the percentage of modern Farmers and Rancher who have at least a four year degree, but it is quite high, I know some with Masters and even a PHD. It is not a thing you can win by shear Brut force anymore, it requires knowledge and education in many fields like finance, Chemistry, meteorology, Engineering and Geology, then on to strictly agricultural and Animal Husbandry both of which are arts as well. Farming and Ranching is not for weak of mind or back or those afraid to take a chance. I come from a Farming and Ranching Family although I work in a completely different field. I have a Great respect for the Farmers of America. Yes I once belonged to the FFA for four years of High School and yes even 4H. I still miss the Farm and Ranch at times but then I think of getting up before the sun and work 16 to 18 hours of the day, 7 days a week in the heat and the cold, mostly outside work, and think I will stay as I am. No I have not seen any Black Farmers or Rancher although I am sure there are some. I have seen a few Hispanics and they are one hard working bunch of people. Mostly though you see Minorities as hired workers that work by the acre or the head or whatever that relates to productivity rather than hours worked. Again few Blacks in the Mountain west but many Hispanics. I suspect the same in California but the South east may be completely different. Having driven a bit in Rural Carolina's, I have seen what appears to be black farm owners, but then again, they may be more share croppers.
There are plenty of minority farmers out there, and you'd be surprised how many women farmers there are as well. Did any actual research go into this article or is it just another willful assault on caucasian men?
Please just say it you hate white men, no need for the article, etc. Farming isn't glamorous, it's not going to make you rich, some good people and families that happen to be white have embraced farming as more than an occupation, it's about selflessness, it's about sacrifice, being able to appreciate a sunrise, a newborn calf, undeveloped land, respecting all things under god. I do not want to make an attempt to cast all Blacks or Hispanics rather I'll say for a very long time Pop culture has cast a dim light on farming and farmers. So you ask who is to blame for a lack of minorities – I say look at yourself, your undisguised contempt for farmers is the reason.
Did you actually read the article? She quotes figures from the most recent "Census of Agriculture" and closes by putting the responsibility on minorities and women to change the percentages. She never said there was anything unfair going on, or that women and minorities are owed anything by the agricultural community.
I agree. Here in the SW there are many HIspanic farmers and any trip to the farmers markets shows women well represented. To me this article seemed devoid of actual facts. There are not a lot of black farmers but there are not a lot of blacks outside the major cities period. I just see it as another young person who sees herself as a victim.
It's pretty simple, actually. The minorities are all sitting at home doing nothing while collecting the government checks that are forced upon them from hippy Liberals who wonder where the minorities are.
Tell that to the minorities at my work who do their job.... Not suprised you would say athat though, you probably aren't very educated, never read books, have no friends even remotely different then you. You probably live in a caccoon and are terrified to step outside of it. I know the thought of educating yourself hurts, but give it a try.
Partisan troll posts mindless word junk... G.A.L.
As a minority I can tell you I get up everyday and I work ten hours from Monday to Friday, (today is my day off) I don't expect anything from anybody. and the majority of minorities that I happen to know do the same.
I bet you are white overweight, a smoker and on government assistance.
No successful farmer can operate working ten hours a day five days with sick days, holidays and vacation time. They work 16 hours a day 7 days, maybe only 8 on Sunday. Holidays are just another day, Animals still have to be fed, cow have to be Milked, Pigs and cattle fed ( Oh you thought the cattle just roamed on the range and fed themselves, well they don't, they spend a lot of time in feed lots), Irrigation must continue and when the crop is ready for harvest it must be done now not after vacation. Planting time same thing. When equipment breaks down you most likely have to fix it yourself in the field, no time to take it to a shop and wait a few days! Until you have done it I don't expect you to understand. Then if there is bad weather and crop failures, no one pays them anyway, yet the bank loans have to be paid or they lose the Farm, any many have.
No I am white, fairly healthy, 77 years old, a Vet, worked steady for over 50 years, never unemployed, never fired or laid off, 47 12 at the same company, then retired at age 71. Whats is your Beef now
Geez – Does everything these days have to be absolutely politically correct? Get over it.
GEEZ – isn't this EVERYONE's country? Shouldn't we ALL feel comfortable here in our homeland?
I have a question for you Diana. If women stormed the beach on D-Day, would we all be speaking German today? Certainly being an atheist you believe in natural selection and understand the roles establish by nature for men and women. Of course the biggest difference being the massive physical capability gap between the genders. Farming (as well as being a soldier) is a profession that provides a significant advantage to having physical strength. How well do you throw hay bales and direct your 250 lbs hogs around? I grew up on a hog farm and would probably be rather entertained at seeing you perform the day to day activities required. The whole equality for everyone at everything is out of hand.
The issue isn't that everyone is the same – the issue is that if a woman is capable and willing, as some are, they should be able to participate without being automatically dismissed due to their sex.
As for what would have happened at D-Day? First, it's a stupid question since it didn't happen, and no one can answer it for certain. Second, it's pretty clear that what would have likely happened is that vast numbers would have been mowed down, just like the men, most of whom "heroically" turned into meat that day.
Yeah, cause pulling a trigger is soooooo hard. If women had stormed the normandy beach then it probably would have been done slightly different to suit the situation. Let me ask you something mister tough guy. If hittler hadn't sent 2/3's of his army into Russia, do you think all those men would have been able to take those beaches? Not likely.
I think everyone understands that shooting on the practice range can be done by anyone of any gender. The real story behind why men are the primary fighters in every single society is weight and endurance. To take your example of WWII, the average loadout of a combat riflemen was about 82 pounds according the the US Army Aberdeen Proving Grounds. This assumes he is only carrying the bare minimum amount of ammunition and only 3 days of food, very unlikely. If he was required to carry a radio that is another ~40lbs and if he is a assistant machine gunner he carries a 53 lbs tripod, a total of 135lbs. That was in 1942, weights have only gone up since then as we have added body armor but not deleted anything. Farming is the same thing, its a large weight, long endurance activities, especially on smaller farms. These arguments about men should be secrataries and women farmers ignore the base physical differences between genders, that is why you see more male farmer's compared to female farmers, its hard physical labor. I think the real question is if women want everything to be equal why are they not becoming coal miners? or loggers? or fishermen? maybe its cause you can die if you are not physically strong or hardy enough.
It has nothing to do with pulling a trigger, it has to do with staying alive and making to the top where maybe you can pull the trigger. Those Boys did not survive D Day by pulling triggers as that done little to get them ashore, across the beach and up the cliff in front of them with all their gear and supplies. all that before they even thought of pulling the trigger. You have a warped sense of what soldiers do!
What if all the women had PMS that day?
Then they would be REALLY able to pull the trigger.
So the dirty blood mixed water would be JUST awesome to be wading through during that "special week"....
Right? So clean....
Luckily, we have solutions for that. Lotta birth control that allows us modern gals to minimize and control our cycles. Yay, science.
Not in 1944!
Lol @ Brad. Pulling a trigger? There's way more to warfare than just pulling a trigger.
Women fought in the Russian Army during World War II.
Your argument is invalid.
Becuas they where being invaded.
They were forced to along with the men and if they even looked like they wanted to retreat they were shot. Stalin's own son who served in the red Army was captured by Germans. The Germans offered an exchange and Stalin refused it. His son died in captivity. Please don't Compare the Soviet Army with the USA.
Ignorance is not blessed... Sir you are not only oblivious of the history of your won country, but a m0r0n..
How well do you break a horse? Dig a tractor out of the mud? Cut up trees that have fallen off your fence line? Rope? Resuscitate newborn foals? Unload a semi full of shavings in August with no help and a shovel? Stack hay?
Quite well thank you except for what shavings? BTDT, all of it!
The chauvinist pig is alive and well in the comments. ..physical capability gap...how well do you throw hay bales or move 250 lbs pigs. Dude. Really. 250 lb pig moving is childs play. Try maneuvering 20 of those 400-600 lbrs down a loading ramp through holding pens, & up the knock chute. Or a ton bull or worse a 1000 lb fat with pokers and a bad attitude through a narrow alley with no escape but a quick climb up the gate rungs. Throw hay bales? Give me a break. I toss squares from the truck bed to the loft as if they were rag dolls. I wield 800 lb carcasses daily, toss boxes of meat, throw 200 lb pig carcass over my shoulder, and lug 200+ lb cattle hides loaded down with salt. And when the cattle go on a joy trip down the country road, I mount my horse bareback to bring them home again. Long after the sun has set, I take care of my family. Homework done, fed, bathed, loved, and off to bed. But my day isn't over. It's time for third shift. Somebody has to keep this ship afloat. Paperwork to keep the ship moving, pay the bills to keep it from sinking, forecasting to steer the ship from the imminent icebergs and know when to drop anchor to stall. Then if I'm lucky, I'll get the socks in the wash. Give me a break! I am a lady farmer. I'm not saying I'm better. I'm saying I matter. Heart, smarts, guts and luck.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/god-made-a-factory-farmer_n_2630880.html
I got a kick out the parody, as it was meant to be. But it's kinda sad if this is how many folks actually feel about farmers.
And that's why we're doing these articles, my friend. Let's keep at it.
I do admire these men and women that pay tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars for single pieces of equipment then convince someone to finance their operation and take a six figure gamble on making a few bucks and maybe pay for the equipment on time when they have no control over the market or nature while everyone and I do mean everyone that can takes a piece of their hard earned dollars. Sure hope we don't run out of farmers. We have got to get younger people interested too or who will feed us in the future? I fear the grocery store shelves will have to be near empty or unaffordable before anyone else realizes we are facing a serious problem. Forget the pig headed men that can't accept reality. I applaud this farmer for not taking the crap some of these guys can dish out. Bravo! Now go recruit more women and anyone else for that matter as most of us have a fondness for a regular meal.
So, you feel discriminated against? Welcome to America. As a priveleged, well-educate white woman you have no right to take a stand on racial issues. None at all. You ramble on and on like a fourth grader with no logic to your arguments. So CNN can't call it news, they slap the "opinion" label on it.
As well educated citizen she has EVERY right to say what she pleases and that is what you makes you so angry. Must be tough watching everyone live outside of that little box you try to put them in.
She can't talk or have an opinion because shes white? and we're racist? Right...you know what's racist. Affirmative action is racist.
As a citizen of the United States of America, she has a right to voice her opinion on whatever she pleases. It's called the Freedom of Speech.
What say you? Only uneducated Minorities have have right to talk about racism? that is the most racist comment I have read in a long time. You are truly racist. With this kind of thinking this country shall surely sink. You want the uneducated minorities to do all the thinking and decision making. Well you did not say it just that way but that is sure the message you projected!
In my opinion, the point of racial equality is to treat all people as just that, people. Not to think of them in terms of black, white, hispanic, asian, or whatever. It seems that there is an outcry over the fact that Dodge didn't think enough about race. What are they supposed to think? "Oh, we don't have enough black guys, we better add some more." To me, this ad had an honest representation of farmers. Those who cry out that there weren't enough of "their" kind of people strike me as too racially conscious themselves. They should have just seen some farmers.
Mexico and Santa Cruz CA , silly .
Only a liberal assshole would say something as stupid as this...
Why "Should more be done to bring women and minorities into farming?" Let's let people who want to farm, be farmers. Who cares what color or gender they are.
Asking why there aren't more black farmers (in rural areas) is just like asking why cities are predominantly black, or "Why aren't there more white people in cities?"
Or perhaps: Why aren't there more men in nursing? Why aren't there more white people in the NBA? Why aren't there more male teachers in elementary schools?
I thought we've been told that the goal is a color (and gender) blind society. Why is it that the people who talk about wanting a color blind society, are the ones that always seem to focus on our identities and differences? Think about it.
Scott, you bring up a very valid point. And I tend very much to agree with you, let people do as they wish.
One question certainly needs to be addressed first, Do women and minorities even want to farm?
If the answer is no, great, we have no problem. But if the answer is yes, and barriers to entry are preventing them from doing so, is there anything we can do as a community to help alleviate that? Maybe, maybe not. But it would be worth looking into.
Actually, the barriers to entry exist for everyone who wants to be a farmer EXCEPT for those BORN INTO a farm owning family. Land is expensive, equipment is expensive and scaled for large acreages, also in most rural areas you got the farmers fighting over the land that comes up for auction, bidding it up to $10-11,000 per acre so they can get their hands on more land to continue the cycle. If you want to farm more than 5-10 acres, but less than 250 (which I do) you can't afford the land, can't find the land, or have to use 20-30 year old equipment.
What barriers? they are plenty of farms and ranches for sale in the western USA. go borrow the money, some sellers will finance, then put up your own life savings for equipment and take a chance on your own abilities. Have at it as that is how most of those already there got there. There are no barriers. just the willingness to take chances with your own money and work damn hard. many succeed and many fail just like any other business. There are no guarantees at all.
America needs to confiscate farms owned by white farmers and distribute the farmland to minorities. I did it in Zimbabwe and it worked out great for our economy.
Why take land away from anyone. that is so stupid you may want to go back to Africa..What a Moron
YOu might google the handle he used and then realize he was being sarcastic...
Bobby, I think you need to lighten up and realize where internet sarcasm comes into play
yes a moron posted but it was not him! lol
In that country, I doubt that they were met by people with shotguns who were not afraid to defend their land. This is the United States-not Zimbabwe.
Actually, this article comes very close to a solution to the illegal immigration problem. If only the minorities (legal) would accept farm jobs, we wouldn't have to turn a blind eye to 20 million illegals in this country, and the employment problem would be solved. So, why don't the inner city folk want to go rural? You tell me.
Listen get out of the cave and have a look outside. Most of the illegals in your country are poor farmers that cross the border to work in farms picking up crops. the reason that American farmers prefer Mexican workers is because they work hard they don't complain, and at the end of the season they go back home if they can..
Hey, here's a thought, if only LEGAL workers were hired, the illegals would go home
As other's have mentioned, I've not known anyone that "decided" to become a farmer. The farmers I have known(my parents were farmers early in life) were raised on a farm and that was handed down to them. It's hard work, 24×7, subject to the whims of the weather and whatever the government can do to make it harder.
I actually "decided" to become a farmer, Bob, but you're right it's a tough industry and few people do. In fact, there are plenty of days I wonder what I was thinking. Luckily, it's also very rewarding.
I decided not to be a farmer my last semester of college. I worked off the farm for six years, and decided to return in 2009. Now I wouldn't trade it for anything.
If you want to see over-representation of black farmers, look no further than the Pigford I and II settlements. While a small number were originally wronged they came crawling out of the woodwork when over $2 billion was being handed out. Many had never farmed a day in their life, but gladly took a $60K check.
whatever. as a Farmer, i just want to say that we shouldn't allow consumers to know what is in the foods, ever. For example, if we have genetically modified foods, we should make it illegal for consumers to know what is in it and how it was made. People who leak what is really in the foods should be arrested. I'm trying to make the big bucks here.
You are a phony.
Bravo, Diana! If we don't like the reality of women and minorities' presence in agriculture, it's up to us to change it rather than complain that Dodge simply represented it in their ad–a very good ad in my opinion.
Thanks Aimee!
Diana, I don't have to tell you how highly I respect you. I've had fantastic interactions with you since our paths first crossed, and this only solidifies my respect for you. While I'm not entirely sure how to phrase my sentiments on this topic, I do want to say "thank you" for being level-headed and rational about this subject, when so many people can jump to conclusions and make accusations.
Thank you for the kind words, Kelly. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Funny but my blog post today stems from other criticism of the Dodge ad – which I thought was good in pointing out the diversity that is agriculture. I, too, have sat in stunned silence seeing it said that small and medium sized farms don't exist, and farms have illegals or slaves doing their work and they aren't in the ad. So while clawing up the ladder to be seen by peers as a women in agriculture (none whom outwardly have an issue with it) those "supporting small farms" insist we don't exist at all! How does one hear what doesn't exist? Great points, appreciate another view!
It's amazing how we can come so far and yet there still can be so many misconceptions and misunderstandings about what we do. There remains a very long haul in front of us. Keep on clawing!
Why is someone always the victim of something? I highly doubt Dodge was out to get anyone with this ad. What about the representation of handicapped farmers, what about little people farmers (can't say midget anymore), where are the left handed, glutten-free, red haired, diabetic farmers?
I'm a redheaded farmer but wouldn't expect to see a redhead on a BLACK AND WHITE commercial
Well said. I thought Dodge did a masterful job editing the original 1978 speech into something that better represented a nation more sensitive to diversity. That said, the world of agriculture is still white, straight, male dominated with these voices owning the family farms and continuing to control policy. Although there are many more opportunities for women and minorities, these tend to be roles as farm hands. wives, and part-time operations that supplement incomes. The FFA perpetuates these roles by recruiting from within the the existing agricultural community rather than attracting those interested in expanding, reforming, and updating our food systems.
I would LOVE to know more about resources that are available to women and minorities getting started in the ag field. If you have any you'd care to list, that would be amazing. And I'm getting in my researchmobile. (It is not a Ram truck.)
I think it's erroneous to assume that those from "within" the agriculture community are not "interested in expanding, reforming, and updating our food systems". In fact, I'd say the truth is pretty much 100% the opposite of that.
Also, while it's true that FFA tends to have a greater presence in rural communities that are already at least somewhat ag savvy, they do also have a presence in more urban areas as well. At the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer's and Ranchers conference last year I had the pleasure of meeting some of the youth that come from these areas via FFA. In fact, the single most exuberant youth I met there was from inner-city Phoenix.
I am glad you can remain so optimistic about the future, but I believe we might be discussing different aspects of the agricultural community. I taught last year in a college ag business and dairy program. The majority of our students were raised on farms, went up through the FFA and are the country music listening, CMT audience which is also the target demographic of the Dodge truck. While teaching a seminar on professionalism and careers, it broke my heart to hear the females, 70% of the class, stating their career goal as finding a farmer to marry. Most of the women in the program do not have the option of returning to their family farms as that is reserved for their brothers or male cousins. If they do, it is to manage the calves and heifers, not as herd or crop managers. They must find other roles for women in agriculture such as education, finance, tourism or retail.
There are hierarchies in agriculture that are long from being challenged. Dairy farming remains at the top in this part of New York State, then crop farms, then the niche operations. I would love to meet the female owner/operator of a dairy or crop farm. We are still a generation off of seeing that happen here. USA Today published a great article on farm succession last summer. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/story/2012-06-28/keeping-farms-in-the-family/56117782/1 All of the examples were sons.
The agricultural high schools and FFA programs in cities are wonderful. But of the 20,000-40,000 students who attend the national conference in Indianapolis each year, less than 1% come from urban areas. The majority remain kids who grew up on a farm in a rural area.
I have hope, but much still needs to change. There is a glass ceiling in agriculture that is far from breaking.
70% of your class wasn't planning on using the skills they learned? No wonder education is so expensive! If the field is so male dominated, why is there over a 2:1 ratio of women to men?
Unless, of course, being a farm wife also means being a farmer, and a wife. In which case you have a married farmer. Which doesn't seem heartbreaking to me at all.
Apologies, Betsy. I think I did misunderstand you at first. You're referring specifically to changes to operator gender, then? Not reform/expansion/updates in general technology and production?
In that case, I can very much see where you're coming from.
There are definitely some very deeply ingrained cultural norms in the ag community. I'm still reluctant to attribute the lack of females in significant on-farm roles entirely to the glass ceiling though. I think we have strong correlations, but mustn't jump to assumptions about cause and effect. These will be very important things to investigate further going forward though.
Betsy, how many urban schools in your area have agriculture classes and FFA programs? I live in Minnesota, and in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, there are less than 10 schools with ag classes and FFA programs. That's part of the reason why there's such a small number of urban students at the National FFA Convention. I know some urban schools are trying to ad ag education classes, and they have to determine how best to utilize their resources – classrooms, class schedules, funds, etc. Even in rural schools, ag classes are easy targets for the chopping block when schools have reduced funding.
Uhh. Here's my opinion – get 100 random women together, 10 might want to be a "farmer". In my experience, most farms have been past down through generations of the family – we all know how minorities have been regarded in the past so if someone wants in it can be tough.
As far as the discrimination, it's uncalled for.
My two cents.
* passed down
Diana,
Great read, I love your honest perspective. I'm one of those white male farmers in America. And I'm glad you pointed out that Dodge did not misrepresent the reality of what the farmers of America look like in regards to sex or skin color. I think there is far more entrenched traditionalism and generations of background that make America's farms and farmers what they are vs. any intentional racism or sexism at a larger level, although I do not doubt for a minute you've had some specific negative experiences in that regard.
At the end of the day, it's people like you who will help us evolve to a more inclusive industry over time! Thanks for all you do!
Thanks, Darin. I agree with you that in many ways it is often unintentional. In some cases I've even witnessed things that other women have done to contribute to it. In one case I was told that a particular farm no longer hires women and why and I can't even say I would blame that farmer, he'd had some very bad and very expensive experiences with female employees.
To quote from one of my all time fav films:
Victor Laslow: "Thank you, I try"
Rick Blaine: "We all try, you succeed."
Interesting!
You never disappoint.
Where are they? While I know more than a few females who are farmers of all kinds, for some reason this question begs for more affirmative action money and politics to do anything......We farmers are extremely tired of this BS
Why do we always assume that the government is the only solution to a problem? For hundreds of years people developed solutions without that intrusion, I see no reason our community cannot develop solutions now without bringing the government into it.
Wow, Diana, self-reliance? Less dependence upon government? Wow! You have hit upon a theme that should be explored. The government should NOT be the first stop for help. Perhaps at times, but not in every instance as it appears to be de rigueur in so many communities.
Maybe you hate government. More likely you are simply the model for the citizen who realizes that she must work to meet her needs. They are not to be given to her because she simply draws breath. I love my government as it affords me a mechanism for enjoying rights and protecting them (i.e., the constituion). However, I believe the closer the government is to my community the better oversight I can give it. The federal government is NOT the all seeing, all knowing eye as attributed by some. Some of the "buy local" crowd should ask themselves why they believe local is better but are more than willing to cede control of their lives to the federal government. Take control of your lives, your homes, your farms. In other words, advance the cause of freedom.
Damn, a beautiful woman, a farmer and she has a head on her shoulders, too!!! I don't have a RAM truck, but she can use my Jeep Wrangler any time!! You go girl!!! Keep on farmin'!! Proud of you!!
If you weren't a lady, you'd be THE MAN!! :-)