Natalie Gilbert can make heads turn.
The sight of her driving a tillage tractor down her road in rural Tippecanoe County can make passers-by do a double take, point and utter just enough words to get their neighbor to look at the girl driving the massive machine.
“It made me feel good, a sense of accomplishment,” said 35-year-old Gilbert.
Gilbert and her husband, Greg, own Gilbert Farms, a 3,500-acre soybean and corn production farm operation south of Lafayette. Although the duo run the farm together, Natalie Gilbert often assumes roles traditionally consigned to men, such as driving a combine, operating a tiller or bringing seed to the field. She’s also expanded the operations by leasing land and negotiating major equipment purchases.
Although farming still is a predominantly male profession, women are inching their way past the grass ceiling, bringing with them a creative approach to farming, a concern for sustainability and a deep emotional connection to the land, according to regional agriculture experts.
In Tippecanoe County, the number of female farm operators increased 32 percent from 2002 to 2012, rising from 280 to 369 — surpassing the 21 percent growth for Indiana and the 18 percent growth for the nation, according to USDA Census of Agriculture reports.
Putting business savvy to work
Jennifer Filipiak, associate Midwest director for American Farmland Trust, said the percentage of women who have influence over farmland likely is much higher.
Since the census of agriculture data uses farmer survey information, women landowners who do not farm are omitted, she said.
“There are more women who have a say in farmland than the (agriculture) census tells us,” she said.
Mark Eastman is the Tippecanoe County district conservationist for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
In the past five years, Eastman has worked with more female farmers or decision makers, he said.
“That glass ceiling where it’s been all male farmers is disappearing,” he said. “It’s (now more) a family affair. Everybody does their part with the operation.”
Natalie Gilbert’s willingness to jump behind the wheel of a tillage tractor or combine saves the farm at least $40,000 a year, Greg Gilbert said.