South Ga. feminine farmers hope to encourage extra girls in agriculture

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – Agriculture is a male-dominated industry but it is evolving.

In honor of Women’s History Month, WALB is highlighting a few female farmers, showcasing their hopes for the future.

Women make up less than half of the agricultural workforce in developing countries, however, some in southwest Georgia are looking to change that.

Carolyn Ford and Sabrina Edwards are sister farmers with Roe Edwards Farms.

Their grandfather, Roe Edwards, started the business making them generational farmers.

“On our farm, we have an area that is ERP, so we’re in conservation for Long Leaf Pine,” Ford said. “We also lease our row crop even though it’s dry land. And so Sabrina and I are raising livestock. So we raise black angus.”

One lesson they hope to teach is you don’t always have to go to the grocery store.

“It’s important to learn to grow your own vegetables and not have to go to a grocery store necessarily,” Edwards said. “When we grew up, we pretty much ate off the land. My dad raised swine, cattle, peas. You name it. Corn. And we ate from the land. And we ate well. We were not hungry. And we ate healthy. And I think that’s very important.”

Emily Groat is the president of Sigma Alpha, a professional agriculture sorority. Their mission is to advocate and educate others about agriculture.

“We are not little princesses all the time,” Groat said. “We can get down and dirty; we can also be beautiful and strong. And we can really show this world what agriculture can do for other people.”

Shannon Kehoe is the marketing communications specialist in the Agriculture Education & Communications Department at the University of Florida.

“If you’re interested in anything, I think that you don’t have to not do it because you don’t see someone that looks like you,” Kehoe said. “If you want to learn about soil and learn about agronomy, go for it. Take that next step. Find anybody that will help guide that path for you, and don’t let anyone tell you no.”

Many of these women said that learning to grow your own food is important, and it is a skill everyone should know. Agriculture is what runs our world.

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