HEARTY ROOTS Michelle had grown up on her family’s crop farm during the recession of the 1980s. From the time she was 11, Michelle picked rocks, drove the tractor and did chores alongside her twin sister, another sister and a brother. The desire to farm began somewhat as a joke (since it was assumed that the farm would be saved for her brother). But in high school, Michelle found herself quitting sports and getting out of school early to help with field work. A crucial question began to surface: Why couldn’t a woman be a farmer? “I always believed that women should be allowed to do what they want to do,” says Michelle’s grandmother, Barbara O’Connor, who has been deeply involved with WIFE (Women Involved in Farm Economics) for many years. “Back in 1986, WIFE sued the USDA for women’s rights to farm on their own, obtain loans and be in government programs,” adds Barbara. “We won. Michelle and her daughter, Mariah, are benefitting from our actions now.” With that determined philosophy, Barbara loaned 18-year-old Michelle her first 40 acres to farm on her own. Michelle had the support of her family as she enrolled in an online distance learning program through Iowa State University, earned a degree in Professional Agriculture and joined the traditionally male-dominated farming industry. “Michelle was determined,” recalls Barbara. “She was thoroughly capable of driving the big tractors.”
A FIRST CROP The manual portion of Michelle’s first year farming on her own was similar to work she had done previously, but the business end of farming 40 acres—the paperwork and planning and selling of her crops—was now 18-year-old Michelle’s responsibility. “All the manual work was the same but the paperwork was added,” she recalls. “I spent spring and fall in the tractor tilling the land. During the winter I completed paperwork such as income taxes, government paperwork and financial statements. I do all the planning for my fields, and I have always sold my crops myself.” This meant long hours and financial risks uncommon for most young adults: “Our days in the field were planned around the rain and frost, and we usually worked from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m or later in the fall. It isn’t uncommon to work 80 hours a week during harvest. I try to sell a good portion [of her crops] on a forward contract though a local elevator or ethanol plant when the prices are profitable. I hold back some projected production just in case the crop is short. Sometimes we just plant and hope for good prices.” A year after she began farming the 40 acres she rented from her grandmother, Michelle married Mike—an electrician by trade who grew up a mile north of Michelle’s grandparents’ farm. “Mike didn’t do much on the farm for several years,” says Michelle, who stayed at the reins of farm management and in the seat of the tractor. “I was out in the field all hours. I did a lot; most farmers do.” Women have always played an integral role in keeping a farm running, but they weren’t necessarily the owners. Society has typically viewed women as housewives or assistants to their husbands. Michelle broke that mold by assuming all the responsibilities of running the farm even after marriage. It was a busy but adaptable role until Michelle became pregnant in her fifth year of farming at age 22, and time management became more complicated. “You have this duty to your child, but you’re supposed to be farming,” explains Michelle. “It’s not a 9-to-5 job.” RWmagazine.com September/October 2013
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