Shining a Light on 'Women's Work' With Audra Mulkern

Closing the FarmHouse Door

This week on the FarmHouse it's time to say goodbye for now and reflect on what we've learned from the amazing women we've been so lucky to talk with on this podcast. We've spoken with roughly 80 women over the course of this show. They've ranged from farmers to educators, policymakers to influencers, but they all had one thing in common: They cared about agriculture. At the end of every interview we asked them all the same question: What does it mean to be a woman in ag? Their answers were varied, but over time several themes began to emerge. Our guests talked about empowerment, community, legacies and why it's important to keep challenging gender norms and taking a seat at the table. We're going to be discussing those themes and more on this episode and we'll be hearing from several past guests, because who better to tell you what it means to be a woman in ag than a real woman in ag? This will be the final FarmHouse podcast for the foreseeable future. Thank you to everyone who's been listening and an extra special thank you to the women who've been part of this show. So long, farewell and remember, in the words of Michelle Elston: "It's okay for a woman to be tough and strong and capable. And that can all be beautiful and good."

Lard, Livestock and Learning to Farm With Julie Schroeder

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we speak with Julie Schroeder of Open Road Ranch. Schroeder started her Greenbush, Wisconsin, farm in 2024. She began raising lamb because she saw opportunity in her local market. "We've had great luck and love working with sheep and lamb," Schroeder said. "It's been really good for an entry-level farmer." Not long after starting her farm, she was offered two pigs that couldn't return to a pig farm for biosecurity reasons. Since then, pigs have become an important part of her farm. "Now pigs are my absolute favorite and I love them so much," Schroeder said. "I think they're so versatile in terms of a business and a farm." In addition to selling pork, Schroeder also makes and sells pork lard products, including a skin balm, laundry soap, dish soap and shampoo bars. "Lard is full of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, oleic acid, linoleic acid, it's antimicrobial, it's anti-inflammatory — it's just chock-full of good stuff," Schroeder said. Schroeder also runs two local Reko rings, which are online farmers markets that run through private Facebook groups. "It's extremely farmer friendly," Schroeder said. As a new, first-generation farmer, Schroeder said she has had to learn a lot about livestock, business and marketing. But she's gotten plenty of help and advice from other farmers in her area. "Farmers are the friendliest lot. They'll open their doors and take their time and just take their whole day to help you when they don't even know you because they know how much we need farming," Schroeder said. "Everyone has been open doors, very helpful to me."

Meet the 2026 PA Fair Queen With Olivia Morrissey

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Olivia Morrissey [https://www.lancasterfarming.com/country-life/fairs-and-shows/newly-crowned-pa-fair-queen-excited-to-make-an-impact-and-educate-about-ag/article_3b6df091-dae0-49ea-9375-7b76af26fa6f.html], the 2026 Pennsylvania Fair Queen. Morrissey, of the Lebanon Area Fair, was crowned state queen Jan. 24 during a competition with 64 other young women. "I was so honored to be chosen," Morrissey said. "There were a lot of qualified women there and it was great to meet all of them. It was definitely an honor." Morrissey didn't grow up farming, but she was involved with the Lebanon County 4-H Friends club, participating in a variety of projects and activities including photography and cooking. Her main project was sewing, which led her down her current path. Morrissey is studying fashion design and fiber at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. "I definitely wouldn't be interested in pursuing fashion design if I hadn't done 4-H and taken sewing," she said. Her minor in fibers was inspired by the national Make It With Wool contest. "There's a lot of misconceptions about wool," Morrissey said. "People think it's itchy, it's hot — and it can be. But there's also a glorious side of wool. It regulates temperature. You can hang it up if it gets dirty or if it smells bad and the smell will just dissipate on its own. It's so interesting and a lot of people don't know about that." Morrissey was also a member of the Little Dutchmen FFA at Annville-Cleona High School, where she served as her chapter's historian. Taking ag classes in high school inspired her to focus her royal reign on promoting agricultural education. "I want to be an advocate and teach people about what farmers do for us, and what agriculture as an industry means for our world," Morrissey said. While she is away in Georgia for part of her tenure, she will be home in Pennsylvania for the summer's busy fair season. Her goal is to visit all 65 fairs that were represented by a queen at the state contest. "I don't know if that's a reasonable number, but I would like to see all of (the contestants) again," Morrissey said. "It would be great to go to as many as I can."

Betting the Farm With Beth Hoffman

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Beth Hoffman, author of "Bet the Farm [https://www.farmbetiowa.com/]." Before coming to farming, Hoffman worked as a journalist covering food systems and agriculture. She's also worked as an Associate Professor for the University of San Francisco. When she and her husband got the opportunity to move to his family's cattle farm in Iowa and begin farming, she decided to take the plunge and begin working firsthand in the agricultural systems she'd spent years writing about. "I covered a lot of farms, I'd been on a lot of farms but I'd never actually done the farming myself," said Hoffman. "There's a real mythology around farming and homesteading and it's going to be, you know, really back to the land and getting your hand in the dirt and that kind of thing." As Hoffman and her husband settled into farming, they found themselves dealing the same big issue many farmers face: the challenging finances that come with working in agriculture. "The economics of farming was something that I didn't really know much about. And I learned. We learned very quickly even before we moved out, just kind of doing spreadsheets and looking at the kind of business side of it," Hoffman said. "It's very, very difficult to make a living on a farm no matter what you do, no matter kind of farming." Hoffman realized that financial challenges were a commonality among most farmers and was inspired to write a book about her journey into agriculture. "Bet the Farm" not only covers the economics of farming, it also tackles environmental and cultural aspects of farming in the U.S.

Shining a Light on 'Women's Work' With Audra Mulkern

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Audra Mulkern, the creator of "Women's Work [http://www.womensworkdocumentary.org/]," a documentary about the history of women in agriculture in the U.S. "Women's Work" chronicles women's roles and contributions to American agriculture starting with Indigenous farming practices and ending in the present day. Along the way, Mulkern explores the stories of women who farmed without recognition. "Women have always farmed, but their contributions and legacies have been buried by history's plow," Mulkern says in the film. The documentary dives into the stories of several female farmers and the challenges they've had to overcome. In one story, homesteader Marge Mullen moved to Alaska with her husband in 1947, chasing the promise of cheap land. After establishing their farm, her husband's health prevented him from working and Mullen took over as the sole farmer on their property. However, due to land ownership laws at the time, Mullen's name was never on the deed despite the fact she was performing all of the physical labor on the farm. "For so many years, women were relegated to 'wife,'" said Mulkern. "They were not honoring women with the title 'farmer.' And you know what I love about the word farmer is that it has no gender. The word is not gendered at all. But somehow we all think of men when we talk about the word farmer." Mullen's story is one of many reflecting women's journey to equality — both in regard to civil rights and in farming — and Mulkern is passionate about making sure these stories get told, from enslaved women to immigrant farmers bringing new ideas to American agriculture. "Everybody knows the story about the farmer passing his farm down to his son, but when do we ever hear about the grandmother, the mother and the daughter all farming together?" Mulkern said. "Those are beautiful stories and we need to hear them." "Women's Work" can be viewed on PBS.com.