Female farmer
Small Holdings Farm featured in short documentary on women in the industry
“I hope that people take away that the agriculture industry is not only for men. Women can play a big role in the operations of a farm.” Monica Rivers Director
Small Holdings Farm, located in Scotsburn, Pictou County, has been brought to the small screen in a YouTube documentary. Directed by Monica Rivers, the video stars the farm’s owners Keltie Butler and her partner Michael Coolican.
The film is part of Dalhousie AC’s Films for Change. River’s film was one of four, all premiering during international development week this year, showcasing local women and their achievements in the agricultural industry.
“The project was created with the purpose of connecting youth with women leaders in the Atlantic Region by giving them the opportunity to explore gender within the agriculture industry through film-making,” says Rivers.
Being the leader of the university’s photography club, which she reinstated during her studies, she was approached to join the project last year during the last semester of her degree.
The project provided her with training from industry experts, but she also used skills she developed from being a member of the Scotsburn-Northumberland Amateur Photography Society. As well as her own research.
“I hope that people take away that the agriculture industry is not only for men. Women can play a big role in the operations of a farm.”
In Canada, over the past 20 years, the proportion of female farm operators has increased. According to Statistics Canada data released in 2018, in 1996, females represented 25.3 per cent of farm operators. By 2016, that proportion had risen to 28.7 per cent, accounting for 77,830 female farm operators.
From a recent United Nations article, in developing countries women on average make up more than 40 percent of the agricultural labour force, ranging from 20 percent in Latin America to 50 percent or more in parts of Africa and Asia.
In Rivers’ film, Keltie Butler talks about a Maritime group of female farmers who try to get together once a year during the wintertime to spend a few days together. They talk about things that would be relevant to a farmer of any gender, but Butler says they more often talk about issues that tend to be female-centred, including motherhood and how to communicate with their partners.
“Sometimes we also just talk about things like where do you buy workwear for women… things like how do you get gloves that are the right size that aren’t pink and do last well.”
Her women's group is the first thing that comes to mind when she thinks about being a woman in agriculture, but Butler is sure other women in the industry don’t have such positive things at the top of their list.
She says there is a lot of room for improvement, including a larger understanding of agriculture and the role women are playing.
Over its near 19-minute runtime, the video also explores topics such as how the farm got its start, how Butler and Coolican have connected with the community through markets and their on-farm communitysupported agriculture service and how they are helping those in the community facing food insecurity with their local families initiative.
The filming took place last spring with Rivers making many trips out to the farm.
“She was one of those people that you love to have visiting the farm because it was early spring there was like nothing to see but she was excited about the whole thing,” says Butler.
Butler was a little nervous about being on camera, but says Rivers made her feel more at ease.
At this time of the year there isn’t much going on at the farm, so the documentary’s premiere was good timing.
Butler says it has been a little bit of a pick-me-up as regulars who they don’t see through the winter are writing to say they saw the video.
The video also helps explain their community supported agriculture, as they round out registration, and their local families initiative, as they are going to start fundraising efforts soon. The initiative, which started in the early days of the pandemic takes donations from the community and provides vegetables to families in need.
“Hopefully things that come across to people is that we are really happy to be part of this community. To have landed here in Pictou County and to feel increasingly folded into this place,” says Butler “That it’s certainly very hard work, but we love what we do,”
Getting to see all their regulars, as well as other customers, is a big part of what fuels their love of farming. Her partner Coolican also hopes the film inspires people to not only seek out small farms in their areas, but for more people to start small farms as well.
To view the film on YouTube visit: youtu.be/ pCr23cQTsg4.