Women in Agriculture
- Mar 7
- 2 min read
Women have been a key part of the agricultural industry in the U.S. and throughout the world. The US agricultural census noted that in 2022 there were 1.2 million female agricultural producers, approximately 36% of the 3.4 million agricultural producers in this country. Globally women make up 43% of the agricultural workforce and in developing countries they make up 80% of the farming population. In fact, the UN has named 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer.
At HMI we celebrate all the wonderful innovative Holistic Management producers and educators working within the regenerative agriculture space to create healthy land, healthy food, and healthy lives. In particular, we want to give a shout out to some of HMI's Certified Educators who have been incredible role models as producers and educators.
First, we want to recognize HMI Certified Educator Kathy Frisch from Texas who is using her background in ranching and Holistic Management to help facilitate conversations between women ranchers to help them learn from each other's experience and feel more supported in their role as women ranchers.
We also want to highlight the work that Linda Pechin-Long is doing in her role not only as sheep producer in Kansas who direct markets her meat, but also educates and facilitates many of HMI's training programs to underserved communities as another HMI Certified Educator.
HMI Certified Educator Angela Boudro from Idaho has also had experience with grazing sheep and worked as a grazing consultant as well as an instructor. She has supported numerous producers develop regenerative grazing plans for both large and small operations.
And lastly, we want to recognize all the great work that Deborah Clark of the Birdwell-Clark Ranch in Henrietta, Texas has done with her husband, Emry Birdwell, to open up the vision of how regenerative agriculture can be scaled on large landscapes and with large herds.
To learn more about HMI's Educator Training Program and how you can become a leader in regenerative agriculture, visit our Become an Educator page.