November 10, 2015 in female farmer project
It's a chilly October morning, I arrive just before her at The People's Garden and take the opportunity to enjoy the bees and many birds that are flitting around. Even though a few of the beds are being prepped for winter, there were peppers still on the bushes, vibrant chard, and beets in the ground. I was unaware this small, organic urban farm existed right here off the National Mall, open to all visitors, year 'round.
The People's Garden is on the grounds of the USDA building in Washington D.C. - it features a sampling of the agricultural commodities and tree samplings grown here in the United States. There is also a Three Sisters Garden featuring Native American heritage corn, beans and squash, rain gardens, an apiary, and a weekly farmers market.
I was surprised by her arrival - she found me crouched between the beds, entranced by the gorgeous vegetables and flowers in the shadow of our nation's capital building; "Hi, I'm Krysta" she said smiling as I stood to meet her.
'Krysta' is Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden, of the United States Department of Agriculture. We have a POTUS, a FLOTUS and SCOTUS so in my mind, she's the FFOTUS; Female Farmer of the United States. She's a self-described daughter of peanut farmers and rightly proud of her heritage. Hailing from a multi-generational farming family, her parents still farm the mid-sized peanut, corn, cotton and vegetable farm in Georgia where she was raised.
The US Senate unanimously confirmed Deputy Secretary Harden in August of 2013. In the short two years since then, she's championed many causes from the Farm Bill to cultivating the next generation of farmers, but one that has a special interest to us both, and is what brought us together that morning -- Women in Agriculture.
As we wandered around the garden beds, sharing recipe ideas and enjoying the scents of fresh dirt as we unearthed a few carrots and beets, we talked of challenges in the public perception of agriculture and how she sees her role in helping to create access for female farmers.
You have implemented a lot of programs including the 2008 Farm Bill, the Hunger-Free Kids Act and the recent collaboration with NASA. What programs are you working on now that will affect women in agriculture?
At the end of October, I spoke at the National FFA convention and announced the launch of a new website to help farmers and ranchers get started, www.usda.gov/
