Seven Days VT
Three Questions About the 'Vermont Female Farmers' Exhibit at Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock
Will SolomonOct 3, 2023 14:10 PM
Vermont Female Farmers book cover featuring Liz Guenther of Three Cow Creamery
Photographer JuanCarlos González had been interested in agriculture since growing up in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, where his grandmother ran a small farmstand. As the grandson of a rural farmer and the son of a woman who was one of 11 children, the majority of whom were women, he said it "was always in my mind that women can do anything."
But he couldn't escape the widespread assumption that farmers must be male — whether from customers in Maunabo or from diners asking where vegetables were sourced at a Vermont restaurant.
In 2020, the Plymouth resident decided to document the role of women in Vermont agriculture. What started as a relatively narrow effort grew. The resulting exhibit, "Vermont Female Farmers," is now on display at the Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock through October 31. (A printed book of photos can be ordered from the project website.) Featuring more than 40 farmers across the state, González's photographs show them at work in various settings: driving a tractor, working a field, or simply pausing for a moment and leaning on a fence.
Seven Days and González discussed how the project grew organically and his hopes for it. We also spoke with farmer Hannah Blackmer about her reasons for taking part.
How did you find the farmers?
The goal was to start with 10 female farmers. I started with Emily von Trapp. We met, and she's like, "Have you thought of maybe adding Em and Rose [of Union Brook Farm in Northfield]?" It became one of those things. A farmer would say, "Are you including Mary Lake [of Can-Do Shearing in Tunbridge]?" And then I met Mary Lake, and she said, "Oh, my God, you need to meet Jane Pomykala [of Pomykala Farm in Grand Isle]."
It was this progression of different connections. It was just so beautiful, the whole experience, almost two years of it. I wish it never ended.
What do you hope "Vermont Female Farmers" conveys?
Savage Gardens, up in the Champlain Islands, sent me a note saying that it was unbelievable that people went to the exhibit in Woodstock and took a trip up to North Hero to buy some of their flowers and products.
This is exactly what I wanted. People learn about the farmers, how they can support them, how they can continue to amplify the industry. It's been creating waves, people coming from southern New Hampshire, from New York, to see the exhibit. It's a good, good feeling.
This final question was addressed to Hannah Blackmer, co-owner with her mother of Northfield's Field Stone Farm. The small regenerative fruit and vegetable operation is located on the land where Blackmer grew up.
Why'd you participate in this project?
Farming is seen, maybe superficially, as a very wholesome and special way of life. And it is. But it's also gritty. It's difficult. As I was wandering around the exhibit, I saw so many emotions in the photos, from a lot of people that I know. There's tenderness in the images. There's tenacity. There's exhaustion.
It's that kind of grittiness of the hard work and the labor and the love that goes into it that I want people to recognize. We have muscles, and we sweat, and we're exhausted. But we love what we do, and we want to keep doing it, and there are so many of us.
JuanCarlos could do this project another three times over and still have just barely scratched the surface of how many women in agriculture there are across the state.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity and length.