Greenhorns Ally, & co-founder of growfood.org , Sarita Role Schaffer, just clued us in to this tidbit from the recently released 2007 farm census:
"One of the most significant changes in the 2007 Census of Agriculture is the increase in female farm operators, both in terms of the absolute number and the percentage of all principal operators. There were 306,209 female principal operators counted in 2007, up from 237,819 in 2002 - an increase of almost 30 percent."
In Sarita's words...
"I hope that this dramatic increase in female farmers ushers in a new era of relational farming, in which stewardship replaces domination and control, and the desire for long-term productivity trumps the desire for short-term profit maximization. I hope that a 30% increase in female farmers is accompanied by a proportionate increase in the amount of pleasure, compassionate pragmatism, beauty, and fertility encountered on America's farms."
Hear, hear.