Ladies in Overalls: Farmer Jane

It's hard to believe there haven't been more books written about women farmers. If you learn anything from Temra Costa's new book, Farmer Jane it's that women have made an indelible mark on recent agricultural history and practices - and there are more and more female farmers joining their ranks every day.

Of course, this is nothing new. Women have been farming in this country (and others) for centuries. But it is a novel idea to document it - at least this most recent wave. What's also remarkable, according to Costa, is that women are one of the fastest growing segments of the population to own and operate farms in the U.S. And they are tending towards diversified, direct-marketed operations that create relationships with "eaters" (a more accurate term than "consumers," in Costa's opinion). This means they are having a substantial impact on sustainable agriculture, in particular.

Costa's book profiles 30 women who are "making a more sustainable food system," which broadens the idea of who influences from farmers to food activists, advocates, chefs and educators. Some of these women have been working in the field for decades, while others are just starting out - and many of them are from Northern California (see list below). After each chapter, Costa includes a "Recipe for Action" to give readers ideas on how they can join in the food movement, even just as an eater. And Costa invites readers to go to the book's website, to post stories of women who might not have made it into her list of 30. The website also has a great list of sustainable and local agriculture resources.

Costa's is no Willa Cather when it comes to literary style, but she calls herself an advocate, not a writer. Regardless, Farmer Jane is an excellent primer on how women are making a difference in the food and agriculture world. And Costa says the focus on women, not men, is because women "have been underrepresented in the public sphere about the sheer amount of work they do" for far too long. This reminder alone was enough to get me out to my garden!

by Ariana Reguzzoni

Bay Area women profiled in Farmer Jane:

Nancy Vail, Farmer, Pie Ranch, Pescadero, CA. Visit the City Dirt Profile on Pie Ranch Here.

Dru Rivers, Farmer, Full Belly Farm, Guinda, CA.

Jessica Prentice, Author, Chef and Co-Owner, Three Stone Hearth, Berkeley, CA.

Jesse Ziff Cool, Author, Chef and Restaurateur, Flea Street Café, Menlo Park, CA. Also see City Dirt story about Jesse Cool.

Willow Rosenthal, Author and Founder, City Slicker Farms, Oakland, CA.

Novella Carpenter, Farmer/ Author and Urban Farmer, Ghost Town Farm, Oakland, CA, or read the City Dirt interview with her Here.

There are several upcoming Farmer Jane events in the Bay Area. In fact, tonight she will be at Cuesa. See details in Calendar Buzz and visit her website for other opportunities.

Calendar Buzz

Wednesday, June 9
CUESA and Kitchen Table Talks to host an evening of women and food
Port Commission Hearing Room
One Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Cost: FREE / Donation

Thursday, June 10th
California Academy of the Arts
Where else can you meet friends for drinks and seahorse watching but the Thursday night parties at the California Academy of Arts? Tomorrow night, catch the Sustainable Seafood Cooking Demos as part of the celebration of World Ocean's Day. San Francisco Seafood Watch® Alliance and Bay area chefs will be teaming up to teach us how to choose and prepare sustainable seafood.

Speaking of Oceans

The BP Oil Spill is truly heartbreaking. If you want to help, one of our favorite organizations is the National WaterKeeper Alliance. This is a neighborhood "watch program" that monitors our waterways and fights to protect them. They are hard at work in the gulf and could use your support.

Please Shop Whole Foods Today! (This is not a paid advertisement). Rather, today, 5% of your Whole Foods purchase will go to support the Marin Organic Gleaning Program. City Dirt profiled this amazing program, read about it Here. In a sentence, they get local, organic food from Marin farmers into Marin schools. Whatever shortfalls there are in the budget, they use gleaned products from Marin Organic farmers.

Participating stores include ALL Northern California Whole Foods Market locations excluding: Sebastopol, San Mateo and Los Gatos