| | | | Hello, Wishing you all a healthy and productive spring season! Here on my farm, I am sowing seeds and learning how to shear sheep, as it's our first year with our four Dorset ewes. I've heard that we can use the waste wool as manure on our gardens, but I'm not sure what to do with the rest of it. Please pass along your suggestions! We will be hosting our first Learning Circle this year on April 18th at Brady Market in Syracuse. Our topics are farm lease agreements, negotiation skills, and land tenure. A link to register for that event is below. Please take a moment to scroll through some of the other events happening in this community. I always welcome you to share newsworthy events with me to pass along to this group. March was Women's History Month, celebrating the vital role women have played in shaping America. To honor that, I have included some recent articles and blog posts that highlight the importance of women in agriculture along with the disparities and inequalities that persist. Below you will find a Call to Action for what you can do to promote a more equitable, thriving food system as a woman in agriculture here in New York. Take good care, Stephanie Castle | | | |  | | | What Can be Done Around Equal Pay in Agriculture? A Call to Action Caitlin Joseph, Women for the Land Deputy Director Studies have shown that farm operation is among the most gender-unequal occupations in the U.S. To create a more equitable, thriving, and resilient farm industry, we must reckon with the reality of unequal economic outcomes for women agricultural producers. This inequality hampers our nation’s ability to address climate change, food security, and rural livelihoods. Women-led farms are more likely to face challenges reaching economies of scale that can help their farms and ranches be economically secure. For example, women are more likely to be lead operators on farms that produce poultry, small livestock, fruits, vegetables, and nursery plants. Historically, many of these products have received less structural support from federal farm programs, in the form of direct payments, crop insurance, conservation programs, marketing support, research investment, and more, especially when those operations are smaller scale. Recent studies investigating this dynamic find that “female farmers have lower farm profitability than their male counterparts because their operations use far less capital (land, machinery, and labor), they have less farming experience, and they engage in the production of commodities that are less profitable”. Our own analysis from qualitative interviews of key stakeholders and literature review suggests that a combination of risk aversion, land tenure barriers, internalized sexism, and biased culture within agricultural institutions are contributing factors to these continued disparities. Read Caitlin's full blog post here and learn what you can do to help. | | | | | | | | | |  | Inaugural Beekeeper's Club Meeting Calling all aspiring and established beekeepers near Geneseo! A new Beekeeper Club will be meeting on the fourth Saturday of every month. If you have questions, please email Shannon Chanler at hello@fallbrookfarms.org. | | |  | GLOW Traditions is Looking for Family Recipes Food traditions are a big part of our agricultural life, with recipes passed down from generation to generation, usually by women. The Genesee Valley Council of the Arts is compiling a cookbook of regional food centered around farmworkers, farmers, and families through the end of April. If you would like to submit your story, click on the linked photo above, or scan the QR code. An example story is below: At Thanksgiving my grandmother always made creamed baby onions. We all gathered at my aunt's house every year, which was on the property adjoining my grandfather's orchard, less than a quarter mile away. Nevertheless, for the very short drive, my grandmother would wrap the onions in newspaper and tie it with a string to keep them warm. Now, my mother makes the dish and brings it to my house, newspaper and all. Last Thanksgiving my son, who lives in Seattle, called to ask for the recipe to take to his dinner. In a way it ties him to his great-grandmother, even though they never met. For more information, contact glowtraditions@goart.org | | | | | |  | Invitation to Join Our Next Learning Circle For anyone who identifies as a woman interested in agriculture, we invite you to join the Women for the Land Community for a workshop on farm lease negotiation skills, land tenure, and farmland access. Our discussion will be facilitated by AFT senior advisor Jerry Cosgrove and Claudia Kenney, state director of the NYS Ag Mediation Program. We will look at farm lease negotiation through the lens of conflict resolution and discuss issues facing new and disadvantaged farmers and retiring farmers wishing to preserve their land legacies. We will meet at the community center in Brady Farm Market in downtown Syracuse, share lunch together, and tour the Brady Farm in the afternoon. This event is free and open to all. Registration is required. WHAT: Lease Negotiation Learning Circle WHEN: Tuesday, April 18th TIME: 9:30 am - 3 pm WHERE: The Community Room at the Brady Farm Market 307 Gifford St, Syracuse, NY 13204 | | | | | | | | | |  | Join us for the Genesee-Finger Lakes Climate Solutions Summit April 21-22 in Rochester! | | | | | | | | | | Women's Work Documentary Coming in 2024 PRESENT A STORY THAT IS LONG OVERDUE TO BE TOLD. In the fields and barns across America are the stories of farmers — the talented, tenacious stewards of the land who have grown our food for generations. But while agriculture is the foundation of our civilization and the backbone of our nation, the story has only been half-told. Depicted through the eyes of men, the history of agriculture in the United States is incomplete. We are missing our heroines — the women who have farmed, who have loved the land, who have sacrificed and made immeasurable impacts on farming and food in America. | | | | | | See You There! We are working on our schedule of Learning Circle events for the year and will post a full schedule with locations and dates on our website by the end of this month. Our tentative schedule is below, please reach out if you have questions or suggestions! April 18, 2023: Lease Negotiation Skills Workshop & Learning Circle, Brady Market, Syracuse June 1, 2023: Native Plant Identification and Restoration Workshop, Ganondagan Historical Site, Victor July: Biological Farming Methods & Composting Learning Circle at Zeliff Farms in Middleport September: Mentorship & Resources for Beginning Farmers at Wild Hill Farm in Bloomfield October: Chainsaw and Tractor Safety Course for Women with Ontario SWCD at Firecreek Farms in Livonia November: Wetland & Stream Restoration Showcase at Boston Valley Farms in Hamburg  Photo by Rebecca Drobis | | | | | | Contact AFT American Farmland Trust
info@farmland.org | | | | No Farms No Food® is a trademark of American Farmland Trust | | | | | | | | | | | |
