The Women Who Build, Sustain, and Will Define California Agriculture

Women have always played a central role in California agriculture, but their leadership has not always received the recognition it deserves. Across the state’s strawberry farms, women are managing operations, guiding research, overseeing food safety systems, and helping lead one of California’s most important specialty crops into the future.

That leadership is growing. According to the 2022 U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture, women now account for 36 percent of agricultural producers nationwide. California leads the country with more than 45,000 women farmers helping manage farmland and agricultural businesses. In many sectors, including strawberries, women are not simply participants in agriculture’s story. They are helping shape its direction.

That influence is especially visible in California’s strawberry industry.

California grows nearly 90 percent of the nation’s strawberries on less than one percent of the state’s farmland. From Ventura County to Watsonville and Santa Cruz, strawberry farming supports more than 50,000 jobs across roughly 30 related industries, from transportation and cooling to food safety and agricultural technology. Nearly 95 cents of every farm dollar generated by strawberries circulates back into local communities.

Behind those numbers are women working across every part of the industry. They manage farms and oversee planting decisions. They direct food safety programs that protect consumers. They coordinate sustainability initiatives, supervise harvest logistics, and work alongside researchers to improve plant varieties and farming practices.

The paths that bring women into agriculture are diverse. Some began working in the fields alongside their families. Others entered through plant science, agricultural business, or food safety programs at California universities. Many now lead multi-generational farming operations while balancing the complex realities of modern agriculture — workforce management, water efficiency, regulatory compliance, and long-term planning in a rapidly changing environment.

Strawberry farming itself is a hands-on, precision-driven crop. Plants are set by hand. Berries are harvested by hand and carefully packed in the field at peak ripeness. Producing high-quality fruit at scale requires constant attention, careful planning, and disciplined execution.

The same level of care applies to stewardship. Women across the strawberry industry help implement drip irrigation systems designed to conserve water in a state where efficiency is critical. They collaborate with university researchers to refine plant varieties that are more resilient to pests, diseases, and changing environmental conditions. They help guide sustainable pest management systems grounded in monitoring, precision, and continuous improvement.

This work is not symbolic sustainability. It is operational leadership, carried out through thousands of decisions made every season.

Strawberry farming has also long created pathways to economic mobility. 

The industry supports more farmworker job opportunities and minority-owned business opportunities than any other major crop in California. For many families, agriculture remains one of the few industries where knowledge, work ethic, and experience can still translate into opportunity across generations.

During Women’s History Month, it is worth recognizing that the future of California agriculture is not being shaped only in boardrooms or policy debates. It is being shaped on farms every day by the women managing operations, guiding innovation, and mentoring the next generation of agricultural leaders.

In California’s strawberry industry, women are strengthening rural economies, advancing science-based farming, and protecting the land so it can remain productive for decades to come. Their leadership ensures that one of America’s most iconic fruits continues to nourish families while sustaining the communities that grow it.

The future of California agriculture will depend on leadership that is resilient, practical, and deeply connected to the land. Increasingly, that leadership looks like the women guiding our strawberry farms forward.

California Strawberry Commission – meet our farmers.