Young Farmer and Rancher Update
Susan Wilkins, YF&R Vice-chair
I have often talked in this
column of how much I admire
and look up to the men in my
family who have chosen farming
as their fulltime profession.
Being a farmer can sometimes
be a thankless, discouraging job;
and I am so proud of my dad,
my brother, my grandfathers, and my uncles
for their contributions
to American
agriculture.
However,
with last
month being
designated
“Women’s
History Month”,
I am reminded of
the great farming
women in my
family and how
proud I am to be one of them.
My paternal grandmother Dorothy Wilkins was
born in 1905. My grandmother Wilkins held
a deep love for farming and loved nothing
better than traveling out to Sinks of Gandy and
checking on her cattle. As a girl, she rode on
horseback to help on a two day cattle drive to
summer pasture in the Sinks. In later years,
my grandmother was highly involved with the
bookkeeping of the operation.
My maternal grandmother Helen Wilfong
was born in 1930. Grandma used to cook
three huge meals each day for her husband
and family, and the farm hands who lived
with them, all while raising three children.
Her invaluable contribution to the success of
the family farm cannot be overlooked. Even now,
Grandma’s kitchen table is where many farming
decisions are discussed.
I can’t talk about farm women without talking
12 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
about my great aunt Ruth. Aunt Ruth just turned 90
years old and I can only hope that I have half her
energy when I am 60. Aunt Ruth has been a part
of the family farm all her life and you never know
where you might find her – running around in her
Gator, fixing the fence, tending her chickens, or
hoeing her beautiful garden.
My mom was born and raised on a
farm and she loved raking hay in the
summertime. For my parents’ first date,
my dad took her to the stockyards to pick
up a load of cattle in his cattle truck. He
laughs that if she had been too good to
ride in his truck, then he wouldn’t have
been interested. She must have passed the
test, because they have now been married
for 32 years. In addition to working
as our county’s 4-H agent, my mom is
our farm’s “financial consultant” and
bookkeeper.
The women in my family have always been, and
continue to be, deeply involved with the family
business of farming – just like countless other
women. We can never overlook the tremendous
contributions farm women make
to this industry
– whether it is as
a fulltime farmer,
farm wife, parttime helper, or
bookkeeper.
I am extremely
thankful that from the
time I was small I was
encouraged to be an
active part of the farm.
And I am truly honored
and humbled to be able
to follow in the footsteps of strong, independent
women like my grandmothers, my Aunt Ruth, and
my mother.