​CDFA celebrates and welcomes UN declaration of 2026 as International Year of the Woman Farmer

The United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, and the USDA hosted an event today in Washington DC to promote the announcement.

CDFA is excited to celebrate the announcement and highlight the pioneering roles that both Secretary Ann Veneman and Secretary Karen Ross have had in leading the agency. Both women have also served at the USDA. Secretary Veneman was the first woman appointed to lead USDA (as well as CDFA), and Secretary Ross served as chief of staff to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack before becoming the second woman to be appointed CDFA secretary.

In this video, Secretaries Veneman and Ross discuss Veneman's career path from a peach farm in the Modesto area to the hallways of the USDA in Washington, D.C. and beyond.

Notes on women in agriculture

-Women are responsible for nearly half of the world's food production.

-In 2019, women comprised 38 percent of all agricultural workers in crop, livestock, fisheries, and forestry primary production around the world.

-Globally, 36 percent of working women work in agrifood systems as of 2019.

-According to the USDA's Census of Agriculture, more than 38 percent of farmers and ranchers in California are women.