It is here that you can find out more information about FSA's efforts to partner with other Federal and State agencies, community-based organizations and various grower organizations to improve the lives of women farmers and ranchers.

To work with FSA's partner organizations to increase the number of women owning/operating profitable farms and ag-related businesses and to augment the number of women in leadership positions throughout the agricultural sector and within government and our communities.

The current Administration is committed to reaching rural women, increasing their participation in USDA programs, and increasing their realm of influence in the policy arena. USDA and its partners have, for many years, sought to reach rural women and provide them with educational tools and agricultural opportunities. It is through a concerted grassroots outreach effort that FSA plans to achieve the goal of leveling the playing field between male and female producers.

FSA's Women's Outreach Coordinator is partnering with other USDA agencies, Extension educators and leaders of community-based organizations to best meet the needs of rural women, but the majority of the outreach work is being done by and must be supported at the local office level. Together we can make a difference.

Through a combination of price support and disaster relief programs, operating and ownership loans, and conservation programs, FSA is devoted to improving the economic stability of American agriculture. The Women's Outreach Program will help ensure that these resources reach all farmers and ranchers. Additionally, FSA is partnering with other federal and state agencies and community-based organizations to provide educational opportunities, technical assistance, and networking opportunities for women.

It is the aim of the Women's Outreach program to provide educational information, referrals for technical assistance, and networking opportunities to women. The ultimate goals is to increase the number of women owning and operating profitable farms and ag-related businesses, increase women's awareness of and participation in as well as their profile in leadership positions throughout the agricultural sectors of business, government and community.

In 1998, at the Second International Conference on Women in Agriculture held in Washington, D.C., former Secretary of Agriculture, Dan Glickman, stated "One of the biggest issues facing women farmers today is the future of small farmers" and that is certainly still true today! The keynote speaker for the conference, Tipper Gore, recognized the importance of women in agriculture by saying "It is time to acknowledge women in agriculture and value that role. Their contributions are deserving of value by society because women contribute to the economics of their households, communities, and the world. This role is becoming recognized as key to the survival of mankind."

Unfortunately, by the time of the Third International Conference on Women in Agriculture, held in Madrid, Spain in 2001, little had changed for American female farmers or for their counterparts around the world.

Women are key to the development of rural areas through their contributions to sustainable agriculture and rural development, including food security, but women are often marginalized in the agricultural sector, do not share equal status at the banks or within the agribusiness sector, and often do not fully participate in USDA programs and services.

Most female farmers and ranchers in the U.S. and overseas, are "small farmers," but at the same time we see women involved in myriad agricultural activities ranging from herb production to cattle ranching and nearly everything in between. Diversity in agricultural enterprises is a hallmark of women in agriculture.

To truly realize women's full potential in agriculture and to maximize their impact on rural development will require addressing constraints to women's productivity, including their unequal access to credit and other resources and their virtual invisibility in statistics, policy making, and programs.

For more information on Women in Agriculture or related agricultural production links, please visit these sites: