Fact Sheet: Growth of Rural Women ECOpreneurs

Background: SEE JANE GROW Seminar
Rural Women's Project, a project of MOSES (Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service)

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HAVE PURPOSE

LIVE WELL

RESTORE EARTH

Background for SEE JANE GROW Seminar

Long known for cornering the blue ribbon pie market at the county fair, rural women today are plowing new ventures, blending entrepreneurial start-ups with their passion for revitalizing our family farms and countryside. From running a market garden to converting a barn into a yoga studio, from founding a non-profit that blends arts and agriculture to building a geo-thermal greenhouse, rural women entrepreneurs creatively build successful businesses around their passion for conservation, community and leaving this world a better place. Some of these women traded urban roots for the rural lifestyle; while others are recrafting the family farm lifestyle they grew up with. Yet they all share the philosophy that "work" means more than just a paycheck: working with passion serves as a means to educate others about the importance of healthy land, food and community connections.

The growing trend of rural women "ecopreneurs," entrepreneurs with a mission of restoring the planet and protecting their community, showcases the new meaning of Mother's Day: women who nurture a hopeful future by caring for our countryside.

The Rural Women's Project, a new venture by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES), aims to provide training, networking and support for female farm-based entrepreneurs.

Background stats:

Women as principal farm operators increased nationally nearly 30 percent, according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service's 2002 agricultural census, women were the principal operators of 9,176 Wisconsin farms. Wisconsin is among the top ten states in the country for farms operated by women, increasing 25 percent from 2002 to 2007.
Nationally, according to the USDA, while the total number of farms has been declining for many years, the number owned and operated by women is on the rise. Beginning in 1982, the average age of women farmers started to decrease and by 1997 more than 40 percent were under 55 years old.
According to the Center of Women's Business Research, for the past two decades, businesses owned by women continue to grow at two times the rate of all companies (42% versus 24%).

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