Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Women landowners share their stories in new videos

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October 30, 2012

AMES, Iowa -- A new series of videos gives voice to Iowa women who face daunting challenges as landowners with strong ties to the land, but perhaps little experience as decision-makers on the farm.

The videos were developed by the Sustainable Agriculture Land Tenure (SALT) Initiative in partnership with Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN). The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has funded the SALT Initiative since 2009.

Women currently own more than half of the rented farmland in the United States. Many of them come from a generation and a culture where they did not hold positions of authority, and lack the confidence and knowledge to make informed choices. Edward Cox, principal investigator of the SALT Initiative, teamed up with Leigh Adcock, executive director of WFAN, to tell their stories.

“A lot of the women have a strong connection to the land,” said Cox, a fellow at Drake University Agricultural Law Center. “They’ve been involved with the farm operations, but they still have challenges in negotiating farm leases and ensuring the land is used as they best see fit.”

Leasing farmland was a major issue discussed in the videos. The women expressed a desire to protect their holdings and leave a legacy for their children and grandchildren, but didn’t always know how to choose a tenant or speak to the tenant about their goals.

Mildred Skalla, one of the women interviewed, recalled making the painful decision to lease her farm to a tenant outside of the family. As land transitions from male farmers to their spouses, women like Skalla struggle to assert authority over their land in the face of family and community pressures.

“These men are not doing their wives any favors,” said Skalla. “Teach them what needs to be done.” 

The women in the videos also expressed concern over the obstacles facing beginning farmers. The rising expenses of land and equipment, as well as the need to work off-farm for additional income or health insurance, create significant barriers for young people. 

Cox and Adcock hope that the videos will show women landowners and beginning farmers that they are not alone in the challenges they face, as well as inform policymakers and educators. “To me, success would look like this: More women doing more conservation on more acres of farmland,” Adcock said.

Adcock interviewed Mildred Skalla, Laura Krouse, Chris Henning, Martha Skillman and Charlotte Shivvers for the project. The videos also include insights from tenant farmer Jerry Peckumn and ISU Extension economist Michael Duffy. 

The SALT Initiative recently developed two brochures, Landowners Helping New Farmers and Land Contracts for Beginning Farmers. Links to the two publications and the new videos can be found on the Leopold Center website at www.leopold.iastate.edu/iowa-land-tenure-working-group. 

More resources for landowners can be found at www.SustainableFarmLease.org and www.WomenCaringfortheLand.org, two websites developed by SALT and WFAN.
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For more info contact:

Edward Cox, Drake University Agricultural Law Center, 515-271-2205, edward.cox@drake.edu

Leigh Adcock, Women, Food and Agriculture Network, 515-460-2477, leigh@wfan.org

Mary Adams, Leopold Center Policy Initiative, 515-294-5832, madams@iastate.edu

Laura Miller, Leopold Center Communications, 515-294-5272, lwmiller@iastate.edu

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