2026 Women Preserving farmland for the Future: Starting the Conversation

Presented by the Appalachian Resource Conservation & Development Council, facilitated by Dana York of Grand Oak Farm and Green Earth Connection, this workshop will equip women land owners with the tools and knowledge they need to preserve their farmland for future generations of farmers.

Each course will consist of 3, 4-hour sessions directed by women professionals in the industry and will include a meal. Each participant will receive a toolkit of resources including the University of TN's Planning Today for Tomorrow Farms - A Workbook for TN Farm Families.

• According to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, there were about 1.2 million female agricultural producers in the United States, accounting for 36% of all producers — a larger share than in previous decades. Fifty-eight percent of farms now have at least one female decision-maker involved in operations.
• Collectively, women producers are involved in farming operations across roughly 407 million acres of farmland and contribute $222 billion in agricultural sales.
• Women also make up a significant share of landowners who lease land to farming operators, including those who own land but aren’t primary producers, a demographic that’s increasingly important as older farmers retire.
• Today, women now farm or co-farm approximately *43% of U.S. farmland — nearly 388 million acres — according to American Farmland Trust.

Farmland Under Threat

• From 2001 through 2016, in the U.S., 11 million acres of farmland was paved over, fragmented, or converted to uses that jeopardize agriculture.(Farms Under Threat - State of the States)
• Tennessee accounted for 659,000 of those acres.

How can we halt the loss of farmland & empower women?

• According to American Farmland Trust and the Women and Food Network, women farmers are committed to conservation and invested in stewardship.
• But, women farmers face gender and age barriers as well as, sometimes, a lack of training and preparation, which affect their ability to maintain their land for long-term sustainability