Book Description

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to begin to answer the questions "In what ways and in what places does gender have salience as an analytical category in the context of California agriculture?" and "Is gender problematic or beneficial to the success and longevity of California farmers and their operations?" This research is grounded in a feminist geographical framework. It employs mixed methods to assesses how well census data capture women farmers' lived experiences, professional goals and needs, and general success in agriculture and how qualitative data used in conjunction with census data might enrich analysis of these questions. Results indicate that gender offers a useful analytical lens for examining the utility of quantitative data in understanding the material experiences of California farmers. Results also challenge the assumption that in an agri-food system dominated by market imperatives, sociocultural positionalities are neither problematic nor important in valuing and practicing agriculture. The case study counties diverged at many levels and represent the variety of California agricultural practice. Both contain large- and small-scale farms, commodity and specialty production, and export and local market foci, but one type of agriculture is particularly visible in each county. In Yolo County, this visibility lies in capitalist agriculture at all scales, and women are invisible for the most part in this space. In Placer County, this visibility is beginning to emerge with locally focused, small-scale, artisanal producers, and women are visible and share some power in this space. I argue that California agriculture must acknowledge and accommodate women and other underrepresented farmers. Capital must flex and move, allowing the desires, practices, and needs of agricultural "others" to become visible and legitimate. They are already changing agriculture and the places it is practiced throughout California. Men are leaving agriculture, and acreages are shrinking, even as more food, fuel, and fiber are produced upon remaining land. Women are entering agriculture but are not taking men's places in the same productivist settings. They are entering, primarily, in the interstices and finding ways to make use of land in different ways. Ultimately, agriculture is an unequally gendered enterprise in California.