Making Connections: Wisconsin Dairy Farm Wives

and Gender Acceptance

Kelly Soczka Kaiser, Mid-State Technical College, kelly.kaiser@mstc.edu

Introduction

Research Questions

Conclusion

Growing up on a rural Wisconsin dairy farm, I observed the

dramatic transformation of production agriculture in the
industrial age. Although I no longer lived on a dairy farm, as
an adult female crop farmer in partnership with my husband, I
confronted gender discrimination. For instance, our
agricultural lender asked my husband, Who is going to plant
your 300 acres of crops while you are driving semi-truck? My
husband quickly replied that I was. The banker then made
several disparaging remarks regarding my ability to complete
the work and tried to convince him to forgo our plans. Of
course, I proved the lender wrong by planting 300 hundred
acres. I was shocked that many agricultural professionals still
did not recognize womens fundamental contributions to and
knowledge of the agriculture industry. Were other women
feeling the same way too? Or was my experience an isolated
incident?

How do dairy farm women, in partnership with their spouses,

communicate their gendered experiences on WI farms in the
21st century?

The women in this study feel that they are more articulate
and are less muted than women in the past. Yet, muted group
theory appears to still have some validity since it can account
for various communicative actions in situations described in this
paper. The occurrence or rate at which the inarticulate woman
surfaces is becoming less frequent, as indicated by study
participants. Broadly, women have made advancements in
negotiating their abilities to express their opinions and have
become larger stakeholders in the male dominated agricultural
community.
The roles of women in Wisconsins dairy industry have not
been considerably altered, instead society has changed.
Technology and economic situations may change rapidly,
whereas, societal expectations change at a much slower pace.
Society has begun to recognize the importance of the work
women do on WI farms, their active role in decision-making, and
are beginning to incorporate the image of a woman with that of
a farmer.

How do agribusinesses and agriculture leadership

organizations communicate to dairy farm women, in
partnership with their spouses communicate their gendered
experiences on WI farms in the 21st century?

Literature Review
Technological Influences
U.S. census data reports women constitute more than 30% of
the operators in production agricultural businesses in the
United States (Hoppe & Korb, 2013).

Methods
Participant Composition
Female WI dairy farm wives between 25 & 50 yrs. of age
(Avg. 34)
7 participants have under 100 milking cows
7 participants have 100 to 500 milking cows
Data Collection
Purposeful sampling
Participants are or were WI Farm Bureau Federation members
Semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted at
participants farms

Economic Influences
Grodine (2006) stated, In addition to working off of the
farm, women also tend to manage the farming business by
keeping the books, ordering supplies, maintaining customer
relations, developing marketing plans, and overseeing many
other aspects involved in running a successful family
business (p. 2).
Cultural Influences
Vogt, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Ostrom, and Lezberg (2001)
argued, However, cultural images of men as farmers and
women as housewives still influences the way that people
perceive womens roles on dairy farms usually
underestimating the full extent of womens contributions
(p. 1).
Denise OBrien, in Doerings (2012) article disclosed,
Women, because they are going against the trend of males
dominating in agriculture, it takes people awhile to make a
head adjustment that Oh Im talking to this woman who is a
farmer rather than talking to a farmers wife (p. 1).
Muted Group Theory
Edwin Ardener (1975) observed that his fellow colleagues
only focused their attention on talking with the males in a
group and realized the opposite sex was being
unintentionally silenced or muted.
RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN 2012

www.PosterPresentations.com

Data Analysis
Phenomenological study: Moustakas modified StevickColaizzi-Keen Method

Results
Seven of the fourteen (7 of 14) women believed that both
men and women outside of the agriculture industry are
misinformed about their roles as dairy farm wives.
Twelve of fourteen (12 of 14) dairy farm wives did not feel
they were treated any differently when purchasing farm
supplies from a salesman.
Even though, farm women in this study did not perceive any
gender discrimination by salesman, seven of the fourteen (7
of 14) did point out a difference in service when working
with equipment dealers, mechanics, or in machine shops.
Eight of fourteen (8 of 14) dairy farm wives did not observe
any difference in their treatment in leadership organizations
by men. Yet, six out of the fourteen (6 of 14) women did not
feel that they were treated equally in leadership
organizations.
Ten of the fourteen (10 of 14) dairy farm women said that
they feel more accepted in the industry. The other four of
the fourteen participants (4 of 14) stated that they felt
indifferent about the question.

References
Ardener, S. (1975). Perceiving women. London: Malaby Press.
Doering, C. (2013, March 26). Surge in female farmers changing faces of U.S. agriculture.
Palladium-Item, 1-3. Retrieved March 27, 2013 from http://www.palitem.com/article/20130317/MONEY/303170013
Hoppe, R., & Korb, P. (2013, April). Characteristics of women farm operators and their farms.
(EIB-111). Retrieved from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
web site: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-informationbulletin/eib111.aspx#.UkSNU7wVzqw
Grondine, T. (2006, September 4). Bringing home the bacon: Womens important role in
farming. Retrieved on September 6, 2006, from http://www.fb.org/
index.php?fuseaction=newsroom.focusfocu&year=2006&file=fo0904.htm
Vogt, J., Jackson-Smith, D., Ostrom, M., & Lezberg, S. (2001). The roles of women on
Wisconsin dairy farms at the turn of the 21st century. Wisconsin Farm Facts. 16, 1-4.
(Produced by the Program for Agricultural Technology Studies).