Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture book release on May 17th

Event will take place at Blowing Rock Art and History Museum

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

Traditionally, farmers are depicted as men wearing overalls chewing on straw. We all know that’s not the case and we know women play as important a role in farming as men do.

The Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA) are hoping to shed some light on how much work they put in the fields by releasing their book, The Blue Ridge Farm Book. A launch party will be held on Sunday, May 17^th at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum from 4pm – 6pm.

The book profiles 13 women, their struggles, successes, personal advice they feel they can pass along to women aspiring to be participate in agriculture, and is accompanied by various photos of them.

“Each food producer we met shared very different of reasons for and approaches to their farming operation,” BRWIA Program Coordinator Suzanne Fleishman told the High Country Press. “We’re excited to have the book as a platform to bring these stories and lessons-learned to the broader community.”

During the event, visitors can read the book, interact with the profiled farmers and take part in a silent auction.

Corn, tomatoes, apples and peaches are among the most popular crops grown in the Blue Ridge area of North Carolina.

According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service, North Carolina produced more than $900 million of tobacco.

Join the conversation and tell us if you plan on attending the book launch for the Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture.