农业+生活方式
开拓者的故事
发布于2018年9月18日12:00 AM
Born and raised on the same farm she now owns and operates, 克里斯蒂阿诺 is a third-generation farmer who hails from Wayne County in southeast Georgia. 成长的过程中, 她是她父亲的影子, following him around no matter what the task or where he was going.
Laying behind the seat of their tractor, Arnold would ride along with her daddy all day long, never complaining and never wanting to go home.
“I just always wanted to be with him, and wherever he went, I went. 不管他要做什么, I jumped in the truck or on the tractor and I went right along with him,”她说。. “He taught me a lot and always made sure that I was safe, but never told me I couldn’t do something because I was a girl. He raised me as a capable person regardless of gender. If they were moving a stack of 2-by-4s, I would drag one along behind them even when I was 7 or 8 years old.”
What started as a diversified farming operation in 1941 by her grandfather, Boggy Creek Farms slowly shifted to what is now mostly a cow/calf operation. When Arnold was 12 or 13, she became fully engrossed in the day-to-day workings of the business.
“那时候我们还有猪, I would take care of our 200 sows every day when I came home from school,阿诺德说. “这就是个笑话. Most of my friends didn’t like to come home with me because I had to come home and work. I had to feed sows and process newborn baby pigs and all that stuff. 我这辈子都在工作.”
Postsecondary education for Arnold began at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, where she earned an associate degree in Pre-Veterinary Medicine. What followed was a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and a Master of Education degree, 他们都来自乔治亚大学.
“I’d grown up thinking I’d be a veterinarian, but early on realized I didn’t want to live away from the farm for another six years. ... I’d had enough of concrete and apartment buildings,阿诺德说 with a smile.
Life after college was filled with marriage, welcoming two children into the world, teaching full time and working on her family farm in the evenings and on the weekends. Ten years ago, Arnold’s father asked her if she wanted to farm full time and to own half of the farm.
It was on that day that she became half-owner of the family farm. 整整八年, Arnold worked alongside her father for 12 to 15 hours a day, absorbing invaluable hands-on knowledge. In recent years, Arnold’s father passed away, and she became the farm’s sole owner.
“Farming’s not for the faint of heart,阿诺德说. “我一直想参与其中, but never dreamed that I would be back in it full time like I am now.”
Arnold’s moxie and grit garnered the attention of the ag industry and of the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association. 4月, Arnold was named president of the organization, only the second woman in the group’s history.
“对我来说, it’s not really a question as to whether there’s a place at the table for women in ag – of course there is,阿诺德说. “If you look at statistics from USDA reports that are coming out over the past five years, there’s been a tremendous increase in the number of women who are not only doing the work but are now claiming they do the work.”
Arnold admitted that while women have been involved in ag for hundreds of years, there’s a difference between just being involved and stepping into leadership roles.
“While women have never been incapable of doing it, I think that they have felt incapable,”她说。. “Whether it be because it was male-dominated or whether it be because the wife is supposed to be submissive to the husband – or whatever those reasons are – now, women have found a different confidence.” Arnold believes that women’s ownership of their confidence is responsible for this seismic shift.
“We’re definitely opening some doors and shattering some glass ceilings. ... 知道很多东西真是太好了, but until you tell somebody you know a lot, 这并不意味着什么. Knowledge that’s hidden is just knowledge,阿诺德说. “世界在变化, 一切都改变, and we have to move with it; ag has to move with the times. I think female leadership and younger leadership is in our future. 女人很坚强, women have the backbone to do the work, even though it’s always been a predominantly male industry.”
During her year-long tenure as Georgia Cattlemen’s president, one of Arnold’s key initiatives is getting younger people involved in ag. The other is changing the perception of women in the ag industry.
“The main misconception people have is that (women) are weak. 现在，有些事情是我不能做的? 绝对. There are some things that brain surgeons can’t do. 我们不是生来都一样的. And there are definitely days that I have to call someone over to come beat this pen in because the sledgehammer I got ain’t quite big enough,”她说。.
Arnold said anyone doubting just how capable women can be should spend a day in her boots.
“I’m an accountant, a welder, an activist, an advocate,”她说。. “I can do electrical wiring, operate a tractor, and I’m a wife and a mother. ... 让他们和我一起玩一天. 他们会弄明白的.”