October 28, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn (RFD-TV) Enchanted Acres Farm is more than a pumpkin patch, it is a haven for growth and learning in northern rural Iowa. FarmHer Shannon Latham spends each morning preparing her farm for the bus loads of kids who visit weekly. While the farm is open to visitors of all ages, Shannon puts a special emphasis on children and education working to create a connection with agriculture through hands-on interactions with crops, animals, and the 20 different varieties of pumpkins she cultivates and grows on her property.
According to the USDA’s most recent census report, the number of women-led farms has tripled over the past four decades and remains one of the fastest-growing groups in the United States. Today females make up 32% of the farming workforce and are almost one million women strong. Despite these powerful statistics, female farmers have often gone unnoticed in farm imagery … until now. RFD-TV’s new series, “FarmHer” focuses its camera lens on women in agriculture through the eyes of photographer and TV host Marji Guyler-Alaniz.
The original series takes viewers on a journey through a day in the life of many diverse “FarmHers” to explore what life on the farm looks like for women in agriculture. “FarmHer” takes you inside the nitty-gritty lives of female farmers visiting an urban goat dairy farm in Tampa, an alpaca ranch in Colorado, an urban FarmHer helping the homeless in Austin, and even an 80-year-old woman who is committed to single-handedly caring for her 6K+ acre family ranch. “FarmHer” is produced by RFD-TV in partnership with FarmHer and presented by Syngenta U.S., Mahindra U.S., and Nationwide Agribusiness.
FarmHer was founded by Marji in 2013 just after the “God Made a Farmer” Super Bowl Ram commercial aired. A few days after the commercial captivated America, she read an article discussing how it was a beautiful representation of America, but where were the women? She struggled with this fact and decided she wanted to utilize her passion for photography to begin changing the image of agriculture to include women and sharing their stories. The FarmHer concept started as an online community and photo project and has now grown into a new primetime television show on RFD-TV.
Meet this extraordinary woman, her curious visitors, her inquisitive animals, and get inspired with “FarmHer,” which airs Fridays at 9:30 p.m. ET (encore Saturdays 11 a.m. and Sundays at 9:30 p.m. ET) and continues each Friday night through the fall season.
Join the journey and be part of the FarmHer movement today! Do you know a FarmHer? A woman working the land, tending stock and making the world a better place? You can nominate someone (or yourself). Tell us about the farm or ranch operation and the strong woman producing food that feeds the world. Nominate a future FarmHer now.
Watch producers Marji Alaniz and Raquel Gottsch discuss FarmHer on Rural America Live.
Read a personal note from RFD-TV Magazine Editor and EVP of Rural Media Group, Raquel Gottsch.
Learn more about the project at farmher.com.
Watch past episodes via our online subscription service, the Country Club, at rfdcc.com.