This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Danielle Wainwright, owner of Clover Valley Farm in Vincentown, New Jersey.
Wainwright and her husband raise Angus and Wagyu beef and chicken, and also run The Point Market where they sell directly to consumers.
One of the challenges of selling local beef in New Jersey, Wainwright said, is that there are no USDA-inspected butchers in the state. Every other month, she makes the two-hour trip to her processor in Pennsylvania.
"There's so many USDA grants that they're trying to take advantage of, but it's finding the land, townships not wanting a butcher shop or a slaughter," Wainwright said. "There are all these buzzwords. 'Oh, I don't want that in our town.'"
Despite these challenges, Wainwright said her community has been supportive, giving her plenty of encouragement to keep providing local, farm fresh products to her customers.
Wainwright is also the chair of the New Jersey Farm Bureau Women's Leadership Committee and the president of the Burlington County Board of Ag Women's Committee.
Both committees advocate for farmers and educate the public while providing resources and support for women involved in agriculture.
While working with these committees, Wainwright has observed a steady increase in the number of women interested in ag and a shift in women who may have previously called themselves "farm wives" now calling themselves "farmers."
"Farm women are seeing what other farm women are doing and that go-to spirit and (think) 'Hey, if they're doing it, I can do it,'" she said.
Times are changing, she said while discussing what it means to be a woman in agriculture.
"We can do it. We can make these hard decisions," she said. "This male-dominated industry is maybe cracking a little bit and letting us in there and showing that we can do it, and it's an awesome time. I'm very proud to be a woman, and I'm proud to be a farmer."
