Advancing life
Bayer is honoured to support Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture. We’ve always believed in the power of diversity and the drive to create a better world for all. By embracing the unique perspectives of women and supporting their invaluable contributions to agriculture, we push our industry forward, helping to shape a more vital, creative and inclusive future everyone can feel proud to be a part of.
HONOURING WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE
Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture (IWCA) is a recognition program designed to honour, highlight and celebrate the work women are doing across Canada’s agriculture industry.
Now in its third year, IWCA is proud to present the seven women chosen as the 2022 Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture. Please join us in congratulating: Valerie Carney, lead, Poultry Innovation Partnership, Alberta; Lisa Mumm, owner, Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds, Saskatchewan; Mary Ruth McDonald, professor/research program director, University of Guelph, Ontario; Christine Noronha, research scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Prince Edward Island; Lana Shaw, manager, Southeast Research Farm, Saskatchewan; Karen Tanino, professor, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan; and Heather Watson, executive director, Farm Management Canada, Ontario.
These leaders have already shared their stories, wisdom and insights in the IWCA podcast series on AgAnnex Talks, a podcast channel presented by Top Crop Manager, Potatoes in Canada, Canadian Poultry, Fruit & Vegetable, Drainage Contractor and Manure Manager magazines. Now, we’ve included highlights from those inspiring conversations in this digital publication.
What’s more, this year’s IWCA program will once again culminate with a virtual event in the fall that brings together women from across agriculture to share in their experiences, offer guidance and advice in an interactive setting.
The second annual IWCA Summit will take place on October 18th. Register today for this virtual mentorship event with some of the most influential leaders in Canadian agriculture at agwomen.ca.
The team behind IWCA wishes to extend a sincere thank you to our audiences for participating in the program and to our sponsors for their support.
Enjoy these leaders’ inspiring stories in the pages ahead!
7 4 10
Valerie Carney Poultry Innovation Partnership
Mary Ruth McDonald University of Guelph
Lisa Mumm Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds
12
Christine Noronha Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
18 16 14
Lana Shaw South East Research Farm
Karen Tanino University of Saskatchewan
Heather Watson Farm Management Canada
Q&A with Dr. Valerie Carney
Just this last month, I’ve had two research papers published. We have a number of tech transfer events going on. Every month, we’ve got something going on, right from our Innovation Showcase, to our big events, like the Western Poultry Conference, or Canadian Poultry Research Forum. A new one that we’re starting is the Feeding Breeders Summit that will be happening this summer.
And then, you know, the interaction with young people and either teaching, which I do just a little bit of, but more helping them to get connected with that real life experience and getting onto the farm. A lot of them are just like I was – the city kid – and maybe don’t even have that advantage of having a relative’s farm that they could go to. So, trying to get them connected and get them that experience with real life agriculture. It’s an important part of what I do. It’s a little bit of everything.
How can we better connect people to agriculture and how their food is produced?
As I said, through the university, of course, providing those opportunities for students, but those opportunities can start way earlier with students. And we’ve done some things, again, working with Dr. Frank Robinson.
We have a Green Certificate Program, which is an opportunity for training for students in high school. And so, we did a project working with a small town high school that gave students an opportunity to raise hands and learn about agriculture and get that training that way. Everything from connecting with the public through our Heritage Chicken Program.
So, we offer informational sessions. And there’s, of course, a lot of information that we transfer to city folk who are interested in our heritage chickens through our newsletters. It’s just really important that people start to get balanced information about agriculture and their food. And so, we have a number of initiatives where we try to connect them with that in a very welcoming and accessible way.
What would you say is the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?
I would say, I’m not a huge risk taker. Although I’m not afraid of change. And so, when I applied for the position of tech transfer –I’m going to be completely honest with you, I didn’t even know what that meant. But I knew that it was an opportunity to move back to Alberta and work with Dr. Frank Robinson and the team back in Alberta that I’d left nine or 10 years previously. And so, I think that was the biggest risk. And for me, it was risky, because I didn’t really know what I would be doing or if I could do the job and bringing my whole family.
So, I was moving from the U.S. back up to up to Canada and I now had three young babies and a husband that I was bringing along with me.
What is your proudest career achievement or a defining moment of your career?
I’ve had a number of moments where I’ve been so proud. But typ -
ically, anything that involves pulling together a diverse team or overcoming a challenge is really what excites me or makes me really proud. And so, when I think about that, I think about how we, together with the industry, rebranded and rejuvenated the Poultry Innovation Partnership. It was a great organization as the Poultry Research Centre, but it was sort of flagging for a number of years.
How do you see the ag industry changing in the next five to 10 years and what would you like to see more of?
Yeah, it’s become much less predictable, I would say, in the last little while. And I think the industry will continue to grow and become more resilient and be able to respond quicker and more effectively to the challenges, some disasters and even the opportunities by working together. I think we’re going to be more coordinated, we’ll have better communication and we’ll be playing to our strengths.
How do you like to spend your downtime?
I do enjoy in the summertime gardening. I love spending time with my friends and hosting get-togethers and parties. Hospitality is a real sort of gift of mine. I enjoy it a lot. I love spending time with my family and just being outdoors. •
Dr. Valarie Carney, lead with the Poultry Innovation Partnership, was named a Fellow of the Poultry Science Association this year.
Q&A with Mary Ruth McDonald
To hear the full interview with Mary, visit agwomen.ca
PUTTING IT IN PERSPECTIVE
Mary Ruth McDonald found her niche and made it her own.
By Alex Barnard
While she didn’t think there was room in agricultural extension for someone who didn’t grow up on a farm, Mary Ruth McDonald has found her niche and is right where she’s meant to be. Formerly a pest management specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and currently a professor of plant agriculture at the University of Guelph, McDonald has received international recognition for her work on pest management, specifically in Ontario’s Holland Marsh. Alex Barnard, editor of Fruit & Vegetable and Top Crop Manager-East, chatted with McDonald about figuring out what you really like, good advice, and the scourge of paperwork.
How did you get started in agriculture?
I’ve always been interested in plants, and then later on the environment. And that led me to the University of Guelph, where I did my bachelor’s in environmental. While I was doing my bachelor’s, my interest in plants developed into an interest in plant pathology, and crop protection in general – learning more about how devastating plant diseases can be and what could be done to protect plants.
When I finished my bachelor’s, I knew I wanted to be a plant pathologist, but I also knew I didn’t know enough at that stage to be a plant pathologist. So, I did a master’s degree.
When I was finishing my master’s, the funding had run out, so I took a summer job as a pest management scout in the Holland Marsh, and just fell in love with the marsh. I really enjoyed the job as a scout, where I got to take what I learned at university and actually apply it in the field. And I’ve ended up being focused on the Holland Marsh for almost my entire career, except for a little less than a year as a potato pathologist in in Prince Edward Island.
What’s a big risk you’ve taken in your life?
When I finished my master’s, before I got the job in Prince Edward Island, I got on a plane, flew to England, and went to Israel to work on a kibbutz for the winter. And I did that all by myself when I was in my mid 20s. I had a book, Europe On $5 and $10 A Day, and that was my guidebook to find youth hostels and stuff. And so that’s
probably one of the riskiest “life risks” that I ever took.
It was definitely a good thing to do. I did miss my friends; I was lonely even though I met lots of new people. I realized the value of the friendships of people that I’d had over many years, but it was an amazing learning experience, for sure.
“The best piece of advice that I’ve received is living well is the best revenge.”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
The best piece of advice that I’ve received, or one that I come back to from time to time – I don’t think anybody actually said this to me, but I did read it on a coffee mug – is, “Living well is the best revenge.” In a way, that has some negative connotations. But one of the things I wasn’t thrilled about in government, and I’m not thrilled about in academia, is paperwork.
Every now and then, there seems to be another level of administrative stuff or paperwork that becomes part of my job. And I go through a couple of days of being angry and frustrated and thinking, “How can they do this? And how am I going to be able to function with all this extra stuff they want me to do that isn’t the important part of my job?”
And that’s when I go back to that saying, and it helps me put things into perspective – you know, don’t let this get to you. Living well, doing what you want to do, doing an interesting job like I have: that’s the best way to deal with it. So, I don’t know if revenge is actually the right word, but it definitely helps me put things into focus and keep going when those administrative things get frustrating.
What advice would you give to others who are thinking about pursuing a career in agriculture?
Agriculture is so broad – there’s so many things that can be done in agriculture. In agriculture or academia, “work hard” is pretty
much a given. Probably the next thing is, “figure out what you really like doing,” because there is such a broad range.
Even with research – I ask prospective grad students what part of research do they like the most. And there’s no right or wrong answer. Some people love being in the field, doing disease ratings or collecting data; for other people, that’s the least fun part. To me, the most fun part is running the statistics. But I think the main thing with agriculture is the range is enormous. Do the summer jobs, experience different
areas of agriculture, and just figure out what you really like.
Interestingly, when I was an undergraduate, and even into my master’s, I thought I’d never get a job in agricultural extension because I didn’t grow up on a farm. It seemed like a lot of people who were getting those jobs had this great farm background.
So, I was really more interested in diagnostics; I thought working at a diagnostic lab – being able to look at something under the microscope and knowing right away
that it was Stemphylium or Botrytis or some other fungus – would be really cool and really interesting.
But that summer job in the Holland Marsh, I learned a huge amount from the growers and being out in the field and looking at the plants every day. So, after a couple of years of that, I had developed a lot more confidence to not necessarily tell growers what they should do, but at least be confident in identifying a particular disease and making recommendations for controlling or preventing it. •
Mary Ruth McDonald (second from the right) is a professor and research program director with the University of Guelph.
Egg Farmers of Canada is proud to inspire the next generation of agricultural leaders. Through our young farmer program and women in the egg industry program, we provide continuous education and mentorship.
Q&A with Lisa Mumm
To hear the full interview with Lisa, visit agwomen.ca
SPROUTING SUCCESS
Lisa Mumm is a leader in the field of seed harvesting and policy.
By Brett Ruffell
An award-winning farmer, Lisa Mumm is a tireless and dedicated leader in the field of seed harvesting and seed policy. As a fourth-generation organic seed farmer, Mumm has a wealth of experience growing specialty seed crops. Her seed business, Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds, works with family farmers around the world to supply over 100 varieties of seeds for growing sprouts and microgreens. She is also the goto to advocate for good governance of seeds to protect Canadian farmers and Canada’s global seed sovereignty. Canadian Poultry editor Brett Ruffell spoke to her about taking risks, her defining moment, work-life balance and the biggest challenges women in agriculture still face today.
Can you start by telling us a little bit about your background in agriculture?
I’m the owner of Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds. We supply certified organic seed for growing sprouts and microgreens. So, we’re selling seeds to commercial sprout and microgreen growers, urban farmers, and market gardeners really across North America. And then we also have a retail line where people can grow fresh sprouts and microgreens in their own kitchens. The business started on my family farm in 1982. So, it outdates me by a couple of years. And I bought the business in 2012.
And I guess my story in agriculture has two parts. The first being, you know, born and raised on our family farm. We’re near Shellbrook, Sask. And it was my grandparents’ farm prior. And I guess like most farm kids do, my brother and I were raised working on the farm.
And then the second part of my story in agriculture started 12 years ago, when I left law school in Montreal to come back to the family farm. My dad was sick, and my parents were planning to sell the family business.
So, I came back to kind of help with that sale. But being back on the family farm and working in the business felt really right. And so, we were lucky enough to access some funding from the provincial government to have help putting together a succession plan. And I started the buyout in 2012.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
Well, I guess like a lot of small business owners and ag entrepreneurs, I end up wearing a lot of hats throughout the day. Any given day, I might be dealing with anything from label compliance, our organic or our GFSI food safety audits, dealing with HR, financial planning, strategic planning, procurement, marketing, you name it. On the business end of things, I have a really excellent team. I’m not even going to say that I have an excellent team behind me because they’re really more in front of me, and I lean on them pretty heavily for everything that I do.
I also put in a lot of volunteer hours for the organic sector. So
“Learn all that you can and look to the other incredible women who have come before you for advice and mentorship.”
we’re working on issues, anything from seed regulatory modernization to conference planning for the sector.
And I farm, or I had been farming, specialty seed crops on our 500 acre family farm for many years, but I’ve put a pause on farming for a few years. When I was farming full time during seeding and harvest, quite often I’d be in the fields before five, and then I’d be in at the office at 8:00 am, work in the office from eight to the end of the day, and then it will be back out into the field to work into the evening. And I really, I really enjoyed that. But when I became a young mother, it became quite untenable to put in those kinds of hours.
You’re a business owner, involved with many organizations and have a young family. How do you find balance?
I guess as well as anyone can, just by doing my best to juggle everything and probably dropping a lot of balls along the way but also
making some tough decisions like putting my seed farming on pause for a few years because I really love that and I’m passionate about that. But I also recognize that my son’s not going to be young forever and I don’t want to miss out on his childhood by working ridiculously long days and weekends. So, I’m just doing my best to pursue what I love but also keep a good work-life balance.
What would you say is the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?
One of the most challenging things was to put all of my ideas for change, and my ideas that could have put my family’s farming business at risk – I put all of those ideas on hold for quite a few years, because I really wanted to learn the ins and outs of the family farming business from my parents. So, I came back to the farming business, like bursting with ideas and wanting to see big changes. But the challenge for me was to kind of put my ego aside for several years and really let the business naturally evolve in the direction my parents had set out, so that I could just sponge up as much knowledge as I could from them. And since then, we have taken on some big challenges for a small business.
Tell me about a particular challenge that you faced and overcame.
The biggest challenge that I faced, both personally and professionally, was losing my dad a few years ago when I was 34. I had learned a lot from him, but there was a lot left to learn. I wasn’t ready to lose him yet. He was an organic pioneer. He was a devoted father. He was a really, really skilled farmer. But he became quite sick with Parkinson’s disease. My son was three at the time of his death and they were really close. So, I lost my dad. My son lost his grandfather. But I also lost like one of my business advisors and my organic farming mentor in one fell swoop. So, that was that was really difficult.
What would you say is the defining moment of your career?
There have been a lot of small moments
that have kept me going. Like the first year back on the farm was just one of those lucky years when the weather worked out, and everything was wonderful. But I grew, you know, a bumper crop of three different types of specialty seed, a couple of which we had never had success with on the farm before. So that was really, really exciting to do that, together with my dad. This, being recognized as an Influential Woman in Canadian Agriculture alongside all of these other really accomplished and amazing women, would, of course, be another defining moment.
In the coming years, how do you see the ag industry changing and what would you like to see more of?
It would be wonderful to see more of our food produced in Canada and for us to have less reliance on imports. I want to see young farmers, ag entrepreneurs and women farmers supported. And for all of those knowledge gaps to be filled. And all of the really great research that’s going on across the country, I would love to see that
being in the hands of farmers. I’d love to see support for farmers who are wanting to transition to certified organic production methods. And I’d love to see more young farmers enter into the sector.
What challenges do women still face in agriculture?
I think access to childcare in rural and remote communities is really critical for women involved in agriculture. And I think many areas in agricultural are still quite male-dominated fields. And it would be great to find ways for young women entering the sector to feel accepted and to feel welcomed and to feel empowered to ask questions and speak out and speak up.
To end off, what do you like to do with your downtime?
I love spending time outside. So, I love to garden. I love to pick berries in the forest in the summer. I love to horseback ride, kayak, ride my bike, really anything and everything outdoors is how I like to spend my time. •
Lisa Mumm of Parkside, Sask., owns Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds and is a seed industry advocate.
Q&A with Christine Noronha
To hear the full interview with Christine, visit agwomen.ca
RISKS AND REWARDS
Christine Noronha’s optimism and passion have driven years of success.
By Bree Rody
For as long as she can remember, Christine Noronha was fascinated with plants and insects. When the time came to pursue higher education, she took a big risk by opting to study in Canada, far away from her supportive family. Despite the challenges of studying in a new environment – at a time when family Zoom calls and FaceTime chats were more akin to something out of The Jetsons, Noronha’s unadulterated passion for the field of entomology paved the way for a prosperous career.
Can you tell me a bit about your work with AAC and how you got to this point?
My specialty is entomology, so I work with insects. Generally, my research focus is more on developing strategies and technologies to manage insect pests on agricultural farms. My role is mostly to do research on agriculture farms. But how I got to this point is interesting, because growing up in Pakistan, I used to love to look at insects. I knew I wanted to do research, and I graduated high school and I did my bachelor’s in agricultural entomology, and that was a turning point for me and my decision for where I wanted to be. It was really fascinating to learn about these insects and what they could do to
these farmers’ fields. We did have several farmer friends as well, so I kind of knew from firsthand experience how devastating insects can be. And then I got the opportunity to come to Canada and do my Ph.D. and the rest is history!
In your early career, did you have a chance to have a lot of female mentors?
There were not a lot of female mentors in the field of entomology. At that time, it was very male dominated. All of my professors in my department were male when I was doing my Ph.D. There were female colleagues, but not mentors. My main mentor in my life was my mom. She was an amazing person because she loved a lot of different things. Not just biology, but she was a well-rounded person. She knew so much, and she taught us all that, and talked to us about everything, so that’s where the interest started growing.
Do you find it’s different now? And have you had the chance to be a mentor yourself?
Yes, I have, and I love it. Not only do I do it as a mentor with other scientists, but I love going to schools and talking to students. It was really nice to give presentations to students in high schools about what we are doing in agriculture, how agriculture is influenced by the kind of work we do [and] how we help farmers. The teacher later called us and said that one of the students who had never even thought about agriculture before is now going forward with a plan to be in agriculture, so that was very nice to see. I have seen a big difference from the time that I started to now. There are many more women in agriculture now.
What were some of the challenges early in your career, and how did you grow through that?
In my early career, the main challenge was dealing with people’s perception. They had a perception about what you could or couldn’t do without really knowing you. It was hard to deal with because as a woman coming into a group that was mostly male-dominated, and being from another country as well, it was challenging back then to overcome that, to break that barrier of
Christine Noronha, a scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada based in Charlottetown, P.E.I., is an entomologist specializing in insect pest management.`
this perception people have of you. I managed to keep pursuing and keep on track – eventually, you get there.
What are some of the things that you like most about your job?
I love what I’m doing. Every day is a challenge. You come into work and there is a chance to be creative in your job. I love coming in and doing the trials – you think you’re going to find certain things and then you end up finding something different. For example, I’m working with this one insect, and we wanted to see how low the temperature could go before it killed them, because they live underground. Minus seven, we thought that would kill them, but it didn’t. And then it survived -20, and there was no way we thought it would survive -20. So, we know that that’s not a way to actually reduce the [insect] population.
What’s some of the best advice you’ve gotten throughout your career?
One piece of advice that I got was “don’t push change.” In agriculture, things take a little bit longer. That’s what I have seen over the years. It takes a little bit longer for change to happen. You have to be patient. Let it go and, eventually, things will change. Science takes a lot of time. In agriculture, you have to wait. You have to do trials that are four, five, six years before you can really see what’s happening or that something really works.
For women entering agriculture or specifically entomology, what is your advice?
Don’t be afraid to take a risk. Don’t let other people define who you are. Take the risk, say “yes” to opportunities that come. Yes, there
will be difficulties, it’s always up-and-down, but entomology has changed so much over the years since I have started, and it’s more accepting, just as I think all of society has changed.
What is the biggest risk you’ve taken?
The biggest risk I’ve taken is coming to Canada to study. I left my family. I was 23 years old, and I left to follow my dream. It was very tough. I didn’t have video conferencing or internet. If I wanted to talk to my mom and dad, I had to phone them, and a call had to be $60 for three minutes. As a student, you didn’t have that money to spend, so I wouldn’t be calling them every second day. That was difficult – being alone, making my own decisions, doing everything myself. You can only depend on you. But I always hoped that everything would work out and it did. •
That's a rough break... Sounds like there’s a lot going on. Let's talk about it.
Yep,
I
can’t seem to catch a break with this weather, but that’s farming for you.
In agriculture, we can’t always be close together but that doesn’t mean we’re far from help. Talking about our mental health can be as easy as talking about the weather. Rather than toughing it out, let’s talk it out, together. That’s why we’re here. The Do More Ag Foundation connects you to mental health counseling, training, and education tailored for Canadian farmers and their families. Visit domore.ag for agriculture-specific mental health tips and resources.
Tough year for your farm this year, huh?
Q&A with Lana Shaw
To hear the full interview with Lana, visit agwomen.ca
THE IMPORTANCE OF A SUPPORT NETWORK
Lana Shaw aims to foster more compassion and diversification in the ag industry.
By Stefanie Croley
From risky career moves and adversity in the workplace to the illness and death of a loved one, Lana Shaw has encountered many curve balls in her life, and credits her village of supportive people to help her get through the challenges she’s faced. Now, Shaw strives to pay that kindness forward in her current role the executive director and research manager of the South East Research Farm in Redvers, Sask.
Tell us about your background and role at South East Research Farm.
I was basically born into agriculture; I grew up on a family farm [in Darcy, Sask.], and I was already the fourth generation on that farm. I liked biology of all sorts, but I thought that agriculture was a good practical application of biology. That’s why I chose to go to University of Saskatchewan for agriculture.
The Southeast Research Farm is part of a network of provincially supported research and demonstration organizations. I’ve
been [at SERF] 12 years now, and it’s grown a lot in that amount of time. We mainly run what we call small client research plots with all kinds of agronomy trials.
If I was a doctor, I would be a general practitioner – I just do a lot of different kinds of things; I don’t specialize in any one particular area. I really enjoy being able to work outside, having the seasonality of the crops and working from planting to harvest in that cycle. One of the things I like best about my role is the young people I get to work with each season. I like to stay in touch with them as they go about their careers.
Is there a career risk or chance you’ve taken that sticks out as impactful?
One of the biggest career risks I took was quitting my job in the public service. I was in a regional office, and I didn’t have a job for a little while, then I started up part time at this failed research farm. [South East Research Farm] was close to closing its doors forever before they found me willing to come on part time – “fixer-upper” would be a very gentle term for what I was getting into.
I didn’t know anyone in this community; it was hundreds of miles away from my home area. I figured everyone would think, what terrible things did she do in her previous career to deserve this? But I wanted the opportunity to try to prove something. I wanted to know what I was capable of.
Can you share a major challenge you’ve faced in your career?
I worked at a regional office in the public service; I had just graduated with my master’s degree, and I had my first child. I think I was the first person in that office to have the audacity to have a child, and this was not well received when I came back. I was pulled out of field work, which I love. I was told I was not good at interacting with farmers, and I should work on websites and communications and edit other people’s field reports instead.
Lana Shaw is research manager with the South East Research Farm in Redvers, Sask., where she focuses on climate remediation and soil development.
As time went on, my supervisor retired. My new supervisor saw I was being wasted in the office with a master’s degree, editing other people’s field reports. That was a major turning point. I don’t know how long I would have persisted in agriculture or what I would have done if I hadn’t had someone that could see my potential. I kind of set out on my own with the confidence that he had helped instill in me.
[During the changeover in supervisors], my husband was diagnosed with [and died from] spinal and brain cancer. That new supervisor helped see me through a really bad time. That’s partly why I left the role I was in – I didn’t want to be defined as Lana the widow with the two kids for the rest of my life. I would have rather had a fresh start somewhere else and not be completely defined by that all the time.
“We need to be more receptive of people who are coming into the industry without much hands-on agriculture experience and be prepared to teach them.”
What advice can you pass down to other women in the industry?
I’ve tried to not be shy because I’ve had to go and find support. Sometimes you feel like that’s weakness or oversharing, or nobody wants to know your problems. [You need] to have people you can call up and [share what happened] without worrying they’re going to think less of you.
You need to find those people and cultivate those relationships . . . and you’re better off having them ahead of time so you have them when you need them. We should build relationships with people we can have real conversations with not just small talk.
I had some good supports at that difficult time. But there are so many things that people go through in their careers that are just complete curveballs. I think it’s important that we’re aware of personal circumstances and try to be there for each other. I try to be the kind of boss that I had at that time.
What is the ag industry doing right, and what needs to change?
I want to see more diversity in agriculture, in terms of people –not just in terms of ethnicity, it’s also in background. When I was growing up, most of the people in agriculture were coming from farms, but demographically speaking, that’s not going to be enough people to sustain agriculture. We need to be more receptive of people who are coming into the industry without much handson agriculture experience and be prepared to teach them, answer
questions and take the time to explain things.
There’s also more of an embracing of ecological approaches in agriculture. The work that I do is very relevant to that. More and more young people are very interested in changing agriculture. At no point has agriculture been static, so fighting change is futile.
I wish there was more of an embrace and understanding of parenthood and careers. There are big strides to be made to make parenting more acceptable and part of the workplace. One of the challenges is rural daycare.
You can’t necessarily rely on grandparents or other family members to look after kids if you’re trying to work. There are going to be children in tractors and combines driving around the field as a means of childcare sometimes, but when you’re trying to do office work or crop checking, there are only certain times your kids can tag along with you.
I did do some of that; we moved right out to the research farm for a while and I had pretty young kids. But not everybody has that ability. There’s a reason there isn’t a tremendous amount of women my age who are still working full time in professional roles in agriculture like outside of farming. •
