Lawmakers introduce the Women in Agriculture Bill. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), and Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico-At-Large) introduced bipartisan legislation to support women farmers and ranchers in Maine and across the United States. These lawmakers recently introduced the Women in Agriculture Act.
The legislation would establish a research priority for agriculture machinery and equipment designed to be used by women and create funding set aside for childcare facilities in rural areas. The bill also creates a Women Farmers and Ranchers Liaison position at the Department of Agriculture. Although the number of women in the agriculture industry is growing, the majority of tools are designed and manufactured to the height, strength, and body type of a man.
Representative Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine, led the introduction of the bill. She says, “The Women in Agriculture Act provides resources specifically for women farmers and ranchers to level the playing field and work towards a fairer agriculture industry.”
In 2019, women accounted for 26 percent of the farm labor workforce, a 19 percent increase since 2009. However, farms operated by women earn 40 percent less income compared to male-dominated farms.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.
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Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.