According
to the 2002 Census of Agriculture, the number
of farms operated primarily by women more than
doubled since 1978, the first year that such information
was recorded. Over the same period, the growth
in numbers of horse farms far outpaced that of
either beef cattle or other types of crop and
livestock farms.
The Census of Agriculture defines
a horse farm as a USDA farm that generates 50
percent or more of its sales from horses. (A USDA
farm is an operation that sells at least $1,000
of agricultural products in a year.) Riding stables
and other equestrian recreational facilities could
be counted in the Census if these operations sell
horses and operate like a farm.
Equestrian sports driving
increase in horse farms
The increase in horse farms
is largely attributed to the growth in participation
in equestrian sports and recreation. While the
horse racing industry has declined in popularity
over the last 20 years, other horse sports—including
show jumping and field hunting, driving, cutting,
roping, eventing, dressage, and endurance—have
expanded their appeal. Jockey Club Thoroughbred
foal registration (an indicator of the number
of race horses expected to race) dropped by about
a quarter from the 1980s to the 1990s, while the
U.S. horse and pony inventory as measured by the
Census of Agriculture almost doubled during that
time.
Horse farming is compatible
with other goals
Given that the demand for horses
is derived from the growth in participation in
equestrian sports, it follows that horse farms
will locate near major population centers. At
the same time, horse farming may be particularly
compatible as a peri-urban agricultural activity.
Horse operations with pasture and sporting facilities
provide open space, consistent with the land-use
objectives of many suburban jurisdictions. In
suburban Washington, DC, for example, the 93,000
acres in the Agricultural Reserve in Montgomery
County, Maryland, is an area zoned to protect
farmland. There, over the past 25 years, the number
of horse farms more than doubled while the number
of cattle farms fell by 50 percent, and total
farm numbers declined by 15 percent.
Also supportive of goals to
preserve agriculture, horse farms provide income
to other farms and to a variety of agriculture-related
businesses. Like other livestock operations, most
horse farms purchase feed and hay, and peripheral
equipment like tractors, trucks, trailers, farm
structures, and fencing. In addition, horse farms
purchase equine equipment and obtain services
from farriers and veterinarians.
Share of horse farms
operated by women has more than doubled since
1978
The significance of women in
horse farming is far higher than in other types
of farming. By 2002, women were the primary operators
of almost a third of all U.S. horse farms. Women
farmers, singly and jointly, operated over 65
percent of all horse farms, compared with 37 percent
of all farms. Of all the farms operated primarily
by women, one-fifth were horse farms.
As to why women appear to have
been disproportionately attracted to horse farming,
answers are conjectural. It has always been the
case that women operators were more likely than
men to be involved in livestock farms and also
that women operated on smaller acreages than farms
operated by men, so women’s increasing presence
in horse farming is consistent with that history.
Mid-Atlantic region has
longstanding equestrian roots
Clues about the dynamics of
the horse industry may be revealed through a closer
look at the mid-Atlantic region, where equestrian
roots date to colonial times (jousting is the
State sport of Maryland). The presence of women-operated
horse farms is particularly extensive in this
region, where, in 2002, women operated 48 percent
of all horse farms. Women as primary and joint
owners in this area operate over half of all horse
farms; in some counties, their total involvement
reaches nearly 80 percent. Why so many women?
One hypothesis is that higher income women (and
their households) are present in larger numbers
in metropolitan areas (of which the mid-Atlantic
region has several), and these women may be better
positioned financially to enter the horse industry.
Census data lend some support to this idea: nationwide,
women who are primary horse farm operators were
more likely to work off the farm than other women
farm operators in 2002; however, they were still
less likely to work off the farm than men who
are horse farm operators.
There may be lessons to learn
from the growth in women-owned horse farms that
could enhance strategies to encourage women to
enter agriculture. Inquiry could be made as to
whether it is the scale of the operation that
is particularly attractive to women, or the positive
business outlook, or the proximity to off-farm
employment. It might, of course, just be the horses.
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