Agricultural Leaders Weigh in on Women's Role in Farming
Published: Friday, March 20, 2026
Is the future of farming female?
Proud to be farmers, seven Michiana women happily embrace the title of farmer.
Wife, mom, grandmother, homeschool teacher, financial wizard, HR administrator, relief milker, farm market owner, cattlewoman and farmer all describe the seven women interviewed for this story on the role of women in farming.
The story is published in the wake of the United Nations declaring 2026 as "the International Year of the Woman Farmer" and National Agriculture Day, set for next Tuesday.
According to a 2022 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. has 1.2 million female farmers, or about 36% of the country's agricultural producers. According to the most recent Census of Agriculture, women make up more than one-third of all U.S. farm operators and are increasingly leading in farm management, agribusiness, research and advocacy.
The seven women interviewed for this story have diverse roles on their farming operations. Some are hands-on laborers while others have dual roles in both the home and on the farm. Some have off-farm jobs that support the farm financially, while one of the women has a full-time position overseeing the administrative aspects of her farm.
In general, the interviewees believe that women are making significant progress in the agriculture industry, even breaking barriers. All but one of the women rejected the feminist label, but all shared the belief that women can do anything that a man can do. The one woman who embraced the term, Bae Schilling, 43, of Eau Claire, Mich., provided her own definition.
"I have always considered myself an equalist," she said, adding that women should have equal rights and opportunities but not favored above men.
"I am still someone who believes that you should choose the best person for the job, regardless of their sex," she said.
Nancy Parkman, 58, of Westville characterized her views on being a feminist as "sometimes."
"Sometimes I am and sometimes I'm not," she said.
She believes women can do nearly anything a man can do but said a woman may not always be the best person for the job. For instance, she said a job that requires more muscle would probably be better suited for a man, but several roles on the farm now have technology that allows women to do more.
Parkman grew up on a dairy farm in LaPorte and married her husband, Mark, in 1995. Together, they run several businesses, including a grain farm, cow-calf operation, mini storage rentals, a housing company, a land development organization and an excavating company. Parkman runs all the bookkeeping and manages the cow-calf operation with her son.
She also helps run the LaPorte County Ag Days (see related story), which she has been doing for four years.
"I think it's important for everyone to know where their food comes from," she said.
Educating others about agriculture is one of her highest passions in agriculture. The other is her cows.
"One of my favorite Bible verses says, 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me' (John 10:27). I'd like to change that from sheep to cows because my cows hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me."
Ashley Stockwell, 36, of Steuben County, is clearly the face of the Indiana dairy industry in 2026. As the 2026 Indy 500 Veteran Milk Presenter, she will hand an ice-cold bottle of milk to the winning driver while millions watch on television. The race will take place on May 24.
As this year's veteran milk presenter, Stockwell said it is an honor to represent not only Indiana's 700 dairy farmers but, perhaps more importantly, to serve as an example for other women dairy farmers.
"To be able to stand there and represent everybody is an honor and a privilege that I don't take lightly," she said.
As a wife and mother of three, Stockwell handles all the financial work on an
800-cow dairy with nine employees. She is a fifth-generation crop farmer on her father's side and, when she married her husband, Kyle, she became part of a third-generation dairy farm. She also has an off-farm job in the financial industry.
"Definitely, I'm all for the equality of all sexes, but I can't say that I've ever said, 'Yes, I'm a feminist' or 'no I'm not,'" she said.
She has seen an important shift in ownership trends over the last decade or so, not just in farming but also in business.
"In general, there are more and more women who are in charge of running businesses," she said. "Females are more business owners than males right now. There is a huge shift in the world of women having more money than men."
Both Stockwell and Schilling said that more women are serving in leadership roles than ever before. That includes Stockwell's service on the American Dairy Assn. of Indiana, the group that sponsors the celebratory milk presentation at the Indy 500. Schilling serves on the Berrien County Farm Bureau board and the Michigan Vegetable Assn. board.
"I think there is a role for both males and females on the family farm," Stockwell said.
She pointed out that many farms pass from one generation to the next, and many of those transitions involve the transfer of assets from fathers to daughters.
This was the case for Steph Hopper of Macy, who, after taking a farm management course at Purdue University, decided she wanted to return to the family farm, rather than get an off-farm job in agriculture as she had planned.
Now she and her husband, Jamie, co-own Hopper Family Farms, a multi-faceted farm which includes beef, feeder pigs and grains operations. Steph, 35, runs the beef side of things, while Jamie manages the feeder pigs. They collaborate with Steph's father to run the grains operation. Together, they raise corn, soybeans and wheat.
In addition to managing the beef operation and co-managing the grain operation, Hopper homeschools her children and does the bookkeeping for the whole farm.
Hopper is also doing her part to lead and represent the agriculture industry. She serves on the Farm Credit Mid-America board of directors, the Chicago Board of Trade advisory board, Purdue Farm Study, Miami County Farm Bureau board of directors and is also active in 4-H with her two kids, Alden and Maely. Additionally, in her work with Farm Credit Mid-America, she is on several leadership committees within the organization.
Addressing women's progress in the farming profession, Hopper said it is important to keep both the past and the future in mind.
"I think it's important to pay homage to the women who paved the path for us," she said.
She pointed to her grandmother-in-law, Wanda Hopper, who she says embodied the definition of farmer, and her own mother, Susan Morris, whose work Hopper said kept the farm afloat, despite having a "background" role in the family farm.
She added that she wants to look to the future as well and encourage young women who are interested in farming to pursue their passions. But, when asked if women were the future of farming, Hopper said no.
"I think the future of ag is whoever chooses to go after it," she said, regardless of their sex.
"I'm not a feminist. I've always just considered myself a farmer," she said.
Schilling, a native Australian, is one of four co-owners of two farming entities in southwestern Michigan. The first is Schilling Family Farms, a sixth-generation fruit and vegetable farm based in Eau Claire. The farm produces apples, fruit, peaches, tomatoes and tart cherries for wholesale markets. The second entity is a small-scale farming operation that grows a variety of vegetables for retail markets, like farmers markets, restaurants and community-supported agriculture with subscriptions. That farm is in its third generation of family ownership.
She and her husband, Ben, met while she was working for a nonprofit corporation in Germany. He grew up on Schilling Family Farms but wasn't interested in farming. He went to college, earned a business degree and was working in an ag-related field. They eventually married, moved back to the U.S. and moved again to Calgary, Canada.
When Ben's parents decided to retire, they accepted the challenge of moving to Southwest Michigan to work with Ben's brother, Mark, and his wife, Abby, on a specialty crop farm.
"It's the best job I've ever had," Bae said, adding that agriculture is a "very admirable" career path.
In her role as a farm executive, Bae handles the business aspects of the larger farm, including fresh market sales, labor, legal aspects and human resources.
Speaking about opportunities available to women in farming, she said there are more opportunities here in the U.S. than in other countries.
"I think I am fortunate that I am in the U.S. as opposed to many other countries of the world," she said. "Obviously, the U.S. is a very developed country, and I think ... there are lesser hurdles (here) because I am a woman than in other parts of the world."
However, she pointed out that there are obstacles here, too.
"It takes a little while longer to be recognized as a valid farmer," she said. "There is sort of this layover from times of old that we are the farmers' wives, not the farmers."
Carrie Jo Bollenbacher, a third-generation dairy farmer from Argos, echoed this sentiment but said it is now more a holdover from the past.
"Thirty years ago, being a woman in ag was much different," she said.
On one occasion, while serving as a dairy judge, Bollenbacher said some men in the arena attributed her involvement to her looks rather than her expertise in the industry.
"They sexualized the reason for a woman being involved," she said.
However, most often, she said the challenge was found in image; although she was working right alongside the men on her farm, Bollenbacher said she was simply considered the farmer's wife.
"They didn't even consider calling you a farmer. You were a 'homemaker,'" she said.
This form of gender stereotyping usually goes away, Schilling said, when a woman proves that she can pull her weight on the farm. As she said, "Agriculture is one of those fields where people will respect you for the work that you do," regardless of sex.
Bollenbacher, 51, agreed.
"If you prove yourself capable, you get respect," she said. "Agriculture is great for women now."
Today, Bollenbacher said people consider her equal with her husband in the work they do on the farm. She cares for the Jersey calves and the young stock, runs the bookkeeping and manages the Human Resources department of their farm. In addition, she recently concluded a three-year term as president of the Indiana Dairy Producers.
When asked what it takes to be a woman in farming, Schilling responded plainly: "A lot of strong will." She added that women have to be very organized, speak more loudly than their male counterparts, and actively demonstrate that they are able to do the job. Other characteristics the seven women listed include: passion, a take-charge attitude, common sense, adaptability, determination, a love for agriculture and "the willingness to not listen to 'no.'"
Bollenbacher went a step further. She said women are even better than men in some aspects of the farm. She listed such qualities as patience, intuition with animals, creative thinking and detail orientation as advantages that she sees among women in farming.
"I'm proud to be a woman," Bollenbacher said. "But I don't feel the need to compete with men."
Jill and Kevin Hershberger started a farm market at their Cassopolis farm in 2021. They have lived there since 1996 and were looking for a way to sell their beef and egg products directly to consumers. They have a herd of 35 Angus cattle and a small flock of layers.
Jill, 55, retired in December from the Pokagon Band Tribal Police after eight years as their office manager. Prior to that, she worked for the Cass County Sheriff's Office for 29 years, where she was a records clerk.
She now spends a majority of her time at the farm market while also babysitting her grandchildren. She and her husband work as a team, with Kevin handling the hay and crop operation and Jill overseeing the market. They both help with the beef cattle.
Jill said the farm market is very successful. All their beef cattle have been sold, even the ones still on the feedlot. The Hershbergers also sell jams, baked goods, milk, pork products, honey and beef tallow.
Regarding the role of women in farming, Hershberger said they perform a variety of responsibilities and can't be pigeonholed into one profile. Rather, it's a continuum.
"It used to be you were just in the house and taking care of the home," she said. "That's wonderful and great, but I think women are much more hands-on now. There are a lot of women who do it all themselves and don't have a husband. They've taken it on and they're not afraid to do it themselves."
Advances in technology have made it possible for women to do it all by themselves, she said. One example is robotic technology for dairy farms.
"She doesn't necessarily need a man there to help her," she said. "There is equipment she can use. Women are very resourceful."
Joy Tracey, 58, of LaGrange County, has a full-time job as a bookkeeper at Edd's Supplies. She also fills in as a relief milker at her son's dairy farm near Hudson. She and husband Kent have two grown sons and six grandchildren. But perhaps Joy's most important contribution is providing financial support for the next generations.
"Our son, Clay, is the one who has the dairy," she said. "Our names and backing are to that, but it's his dream. It's his calling. I was raised on a dairy farm, so it's in my blood. I love the dairy."
Joy's granddaughter also has a passion for dairy cattle, especially the Milking Shorthorn breed.
Tracey delights in helping her son and granddaughter realize their farming dreams, regardless of their sex.
In the past, women have had a tougher hill to climb than men, she said, largely because they weren't taken very seriously or because of the conventional view that farming is a man's business.
"In the past, the women have always been just the parts runners and (the one) taking the meals to the field," she said.
However, she said the pendulum is starting to swing the other way.
"Actually, I think we have it better," she said. "USDA has come out with quite a few loans and grants that are for women only. There are a lot of things out there if you are willing to look for them."
While Tracey was happy to fill traditional roles earlier in her farming career, she is just as happy to applaud the next generation of women as they earn their way into non-traditional roles.
One example is her daughter-in-law. Clay's wife, Caitlin Tracey, is the agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at Prairie Heights FFA. She also raises meat goats.
When asked how agriculture has changed for women, Joy said the industry is more accepting.
"It's not a man's world anymore," she said.
In recent years, she has noticed a trend of daughters taking over the farm after their respective fathers retire from farming.
"It's acknowledged that the daughters are the ones who have held things together and maybe not so much the sons," she said.
Tracey serves on Indiana Farm Bureau's Women's Leadership Committee, leading volunteer education and outreach efforts in northeastern Indiana. As part of the "International Year of the Woman Farmer" observance, she and other state INFB leaders will attend a summit June 1-3 in Washington, D.C.
According to Tracey, Farm Bureau wants to let the public know that women are not just in supportive roles but can also lead, decide and thrive in once-male dominated agricultural roles.
"Women can do anything," she said. "They can enter any part of agriculture that they wish. They might have to push a little bit harder to open the door, but they can open that door and walk through it if they want it."
Hershberger agreed that the future of farming doesn't belong solely to men or women, but both.
"It's the people who love it," she said. "It doesn't matter who you are."
When asked if the future of farming is female, Tracey echoed the opinions shared by all seven of the women interviewed for this story.
"No, I think the future of farming is human," she said. "It doesn't matter whether it's male or female. I think it's going to take that mindset of 'We are feeding a nation that is growing every year,' and I think there is a place at the table for both women and men."
Return to Top of Page