Women farmers are a perfect underserved and protected audience for ANRE colleagues to work with in the course of their programming.  The number of women farmers are on the rise; in the 2012 Ag Census, the total number of women farm operators in the state was over 16,000.  USDA-ERS analyzed the national data and had some interesting findings about women farmers and the type of operations they manage/own.  Click on the following link to access the article: USDA-ERS article on women farmers specialization.

Want to know how to figure out how to determine your potential audience when working with farmers?  Start with the Census of Agriculture!  Each county has their own profile available on the USDA Census of Agriculture website.  Use this data to help you determine your potential audience.  Information is available for number of farm operators by occupation, race, ethnicity, and gender.  Click on the following link to find your county’s profile: 2012 Ag Census – WI County Profiles

*Civil Rights Tip: Put a copy of this profile into your Civil Rights binder for your program area under demographic information!