National Women in AG Day- Bringing a Fresh Perspective
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March 28, 2025 marks National Women in AG Day.
To mark the day, Midland is highlighting one of its female agriculture partners, Michelle Miller (The Farm Babe) and taking a look at the impact women have in agriculture.
U.S. Women in AG
According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture (most recent data), the United States had 1.2 million female producers. However, this is a 0.2% decrease since the last time this census was conducted in 2017.
This accounts for 36% of the country's 3.4 million producers.
Women in AG were slightly younger, more likely to be a beginning farmer, and more likely to live on the farm they operate than male producers.
58% of all farms had a female producer as part of its operation. According to the census, farms with 1 or more female producer accounted for 41% of U.S. agriculture sales and 46% of U.S. farmland.
Top States with Female Producers
- Arizona
- Alaska
- New Hampshire
- Oregon
- Maine
- Hawaii
- Rhode Island
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- Washington
About Miller
Michelle Miller is an agriculture-focused content creator.
“I currently live near Ocala, Florida in a small town on a timber operation so I’m learning a little bit about forestry. I’ve been in Florida for 4 or 5 years," she said.
She grew up in Wisconsin. While she didn't live on a farm as a child, she constantly found herself on one.
"My friends were farm kids so everyday after school we would ride horses and do chores. I always really loved the farm life. My friends always got me involved in 4H."
From a young age, it was clear Miller belonged on the farm. Career aptitude tests, teachers, and counselors always pointed to her working as a farmer or veterinarian focused on livestock.
However, she took a different route, going to college in LA and working in fashion afterwards.
“I wanted to see what life was like in a big city, outside of Wisconsin, try something different. I lived in downtown LA and downtown Chicago for all of my 20s."
Finding life on a farm
After living in LA and Chicago, Miller moved to Florida, bartending in Pensacola Beach.
It was there she met a farmer who she would end up dating for 8 years.
"I moved to Iowa for him and became a farmer with him. He's a sixth-generation farmer."
Here, she would work as a commercial-scale farmer for 7-8 years.
“The best part was being with the animals. Animals are my happy place. Whenever you’re having a bad day, you can just go and hang out with your cattle. It just makes life better.”
It was through her work with him she learned what agriculture really looked like.
“I started to learn and realize everything I thought I knew about farming was wrong. My boyfriend at the time, he was growing corn and soybeans. He was growing GMOs and spraying weed killer. Sometimes he would use hormones and antibiotics. The more I learned about what he was doing and why, the more I wanted to give farmers a bigger voice. I wanted to learn more and more.”
Giving farmers a voice on social media
In an effort to debunk farming myths, she became the Farm Babe on social media in October of 2014.
“I had some posts that were going viral so I started talking about how much weed killer I was spraying on our GMOs. I was just out there debunking myths that we’re just out there spraying all the time.”
Even though at the time she only had about 100 followers, one of her posts reached 18 million people.
"People started asking me to speak at conferences, write for their publications. Now, I’m a columnist for several agriculture publications, speak at events all over the world, and learn about where our food comes from, and share those stories as a social media influencer."
She also has a podcast and is planning events.
“My favorite part of what I do is the diversity. One week I’m on a cotton farm, the next week I’m on a blueberry farm. The next week I move cattle or dairy. I always say that I have the world’s coolest career because I love to travel, I love to learn, and I love to tell stories."
Giving a voice to farmers isn't just a job, it's a passion.
“Sometimes people who are really involved in AG are wonderfully brilliant and we’d lost without them, but sometimes they don’t communicate what they do in a way that the general public can understand. I think realizing my advocacy purpose, it’s a really good feeling.”
It's through her work that she hopes others see what farming is all about.
"I think people don't realize all the hard work that goes into it. I love when people learn something new from my content. I'm passionate about improving perception and policy. Breakthrough moments are very necessary and rewarding."
She wouldn't change what she does for anything.
"We're so fortunate to be in an industry that feeds the world. That's so cool."
Women in AG
Miller feels lucky to be a woman in agriculture, but points out it's hard work.
“I think sometimes being a woman in AG, you just have to prove yourself a little bit more.”
And it doesn't come without its challenges.
“I think one of the biggest challenges I’ve had is when I wanted to go shopping for equipment and make big purchases. There have been instances where they’re kind of like, ‘Where’s your husband.’ That’s really been the biggest complaint- just thinking a young, pretty girl means we’re just doing this for the man.”
However, she wants people to know that she's seen more and more women get involved in the industry.
"I think more and more people are realizing that it's pretty equal playing field as we're seeing more and more women in AG."
She says women bring a unique perspective to the field.
"Women can have a little bit more patience when it comes to tapping into our maternal side of things. We have that patience when it comes to animals, people, and books. However, I don't want to stereotype. Men can be just as empathetic as us. We women, we just bring a different, unique perspective."
GMRS two-way radios on the farm
While Miller no long works on a commercial-scale farm anymore, she is constantly working with those that do.
That's why she knows just how important reliable communication through GMRS two-way radios is.
"Communication is everything. There are so many working parts and especially just from a safety perspective, you have to be able to communicate with your team in case something goes wrong."
GMRS two-way radios bring an added level of safety to the operations she's part of.
"I've used Midland's radios and it's just a great product. There's just that clarity and reliability in the communication with your team in case something goes wrong. You have 1 grain bin accident gone wrong and it can be pretty catastrophic. Communication is a huge, huge component of running a farm successfully."
