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Up with the rooster, to bed with the sun, and if the farmers a woman, its a good bet theres always more work waiting. Holding household and family together, women farmers daily, quietly perform heroic labors just to eke a livelihood out of the land. Women have always farmed, when death or war left them to fend for themselves, but today they might choose to farm, and, in a time when farming is a shrinking occupation, their choices have expanded. Some women are only at home on the range; others, more hearth-bound, see the farm as an extension of home and family life. Some farm to feed their families; others, running huge corporate operations, farm to feed nations.

These are the farmers that Women of the Harvest celebrates. In twelve illustrated profiles, the book introduces readers to women who work the land, raising livestock and crops, and, in doing so, uphold and transform a tradition as old as agriculture itself. Their stories, drawn from farms across the country, are truly in the American grain.

The Medford OR Mail Tribune, April 5, 2007

“You can forget about that old stereotype of the farm-wife wearing an apron and making pies while her husband plows the furrows. While the number of family farms steadily declines across the country, the U.S. Census shows a 27 percent jump in women who call themselves farmers. A new book, ‘Women of the Harvest,’ profiles 17 of them – including three from the Applegate Valley –  who do it, not jut for the good food, but ‘for the connection it provides between the land and the animals to their souls.’”
                                                                                                                                                               
The Bookworm Sez, May 2007

"The photos of Women of the Harvest will take your breath away. Images of lush New England gardens compete with those of dusty Arizona cactus beds, and pictures of peaceful Colorado mountains follow those of an Oregon spread that seems to go on for miles. If you’re a farmer of either gender, or if your garden isn’t enough to fulfill your dreams, you’ll love paging though this book. When it comes to off-the-beaten path agriculture books Women of the Harvest is the cream of the crop.”

Midwest Book Review, June 2007

“Any agricultural or rural library will find ‘Women of the Harvest’ a winning leisure read choice.”

Walla Wall WA Union-Bulletin, Oct. 25, 2007

“America’s daughters embrace Mother Nature.”

“Today, women are the fastest growing group of people buying and operating small farms. While the number of American farms has dropped 14 percent in the last 25 years, the number of farms run by women has increased 86 percent! Like a tenacious new breed of invasive weed, we’re here to stay; laying down roots and growing right where we’ve always belonged.”

—MaryJane Butters, founder of MaryJanesFarm and author of MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook

Their vocations may vary from alpacas and vineyards to organic vegetables and medicinal herbs, but the women of Women of the Harvest: Inspiring Stories of Contemporary Farmers share one common thread—a deep connection to the land and to nature borne of their love for farming. Through the profiles of these seventeen amazing women from all over the United States, you will feel that bond—the warm sun beating on your face; your hands in the cool, moist dirt; tending and nurturing plants; raising animals. May the stories of Women of the Harvest inspire you to cultivate your dreams!

“Women who give in to their farm fantasies (I’ve never met a woman yet who hasn’t, at some point in her life, had a farm fantasy) are in for a sensory journey like none other. Digging in the soil makes you whole. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.

As our numbers grow, so do the abundance of opportunities and ideas. Sit back, read, and be inspired. There’s a whole new frontier awaiting us, but it starts here, armed with the inspiration of women farmers who’ve already landed their dream.”

—MaryJane Butters, founder of MaryJanesFarm and author of MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook