TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – When Laurie Elliott moved back to west central Indiana in 2014 to start an urban farm, she soon realized she would have to deal with questions and comments about being a woman in charge of a farm operation.

“I did get phone calls for the man of the house – that was annoying,” she remembered. “They were from companies trying to sell me ag-related products. They called the number and just assumed there was a man in charge. People have indicated they believe there must be a man who is financially invested in the farm. There’s got to be somebody putting up the money for this.”

Elliott, 59, started The Pickery, an organic-certified farm, in 2015. She raises a wide variety of vegetables and has a large farm stand and a pick-your-own option. She takes some produce to a local farmers market and has a Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, business. She sells all her products within about five miles of her farm.

Elliott was one of a large number of women who joined agriculture from 2012 to 2017. The 2017 Census of Agriculture – the most recent – found the number of women producers rose steeply from nearly 970,000 in 2012 to 1.2 million in 2017.

She doesn’t have a farm background. Elliott is from northern Illinois and moved with her family to Terre Haute; she spent 7th through 12th grades there. She graduated from Indiana University and then moved to the Philadelphia area, where she lived until moving back.

Farm visitors look around her 15-acre property and see the fencing, deer netting, outbuildings and greenhouse she added since she bought it. “They imply there must be a man here, as a woman I couldn’t possibly do this on my own. I’ve had a lot of strong women in my life. When you talk to me face to face, you don’t doubt I’m in charge. You can look at me and know I know what I’m talking about. It’s how I present myself and you don’t doubt it.”

Elliott said she sometimes doesn’t notice right away when she might be treated differently because she’s a woman. “I’m not looking for people to treat me differently. They’re never blatant about it. (When something happens) I just want to move on. I don’t lose sleep over it. I do think it’s changing. Look at the statistics, there are a lot of women-owned farms. Women in farming are a big deal right now, especially in urban farms, in specialty farms.”

Nancy Swaim, 76, of Parke County, Ind., said when she was first married years ago, she and her husband had a small farm. “I did most of the animal care taking. Men wouldn’t look at me when I wanted information. In this day and age women still aren’t recognized. Farmers – and others – would much rather talk to men than women.”

Swaim, a retired psychologist, grew up on her parents’ farm. After they died, the land was divided into five sections for her and her four siblings. One third of her 319 acres is tillable; another third is timber and the other third is pastureland.

She hired three farmers – a grandfather, son and grandson – to farm the tillable land. They’re in the process of turning the corn and soybean farm into an organic operation.

“I wanted farmers who practiced no till, conservation and would manage chemical use so that it’s least harmful,” she explained. “I was adamant they would use conservation practices. I told my farmers I was interested in going organic. I know that’s really difficult. When we discussed switching to organic, I told them, if there was a loss, I’ll share it with them. What’s important is the future of the soil. Every part of my farm is dear to me. The environment is my hot button. It’s my passion.”

Farmers don’t like to talk to women, Swaim added. “When I was putting out feelers for new farmers, people would call my son-in-law but they needed to talk to me. Too often, in agriculture, women are not seen as being competent and knowledgeable and serious about their work. I think it’s worse in the Midwest. Men are the authority figures and have a corner on decision-making. Men don’t take women seriously.”

Farm wives have long been partners in making farming successful, she noted, but they are often overlooked.

“It’s always been an issue in my time that you’re seen as a woman first and person second. I don’t reward bad behavior. You have to be respectful and kind to everyone. Let them know you know what they’re talking about. The thing we need to do is be civil to each other.”

Sarah Beth Aubrey, an executive coach, corporate trainer and farmer in Monrovia, Ind., said she’s seen more women in agriculture.

“We are graduating more women with agriculture degrees than men,” she noted. “More women are competing for jobs, including coming back to the farm. That’s a tremendous opportunity for women and a tremendous opportunity for the farm.”

Women are working in many ag-related fields, Aubrey said. “We’re not just seeing women in marketing or communications or in food and nutrition. We’re seeing more women in all ag majors. Listen dads, don’t think women are coming home to be your social media person.”