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Amanda Beal has led the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry since 2019.
Updated: May 30, 2023
Plowing ahead: Tips for budding female farmers from Maine's ag chief
Amanda Beal, commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry since 2019, grew up on her family's commercial dairy farm in Litchfield and now lives in Warren, where she and her husband own a 35-acre farm.
To today's young women thinking about a future in farming, she offers the following encouragement: "If agriculture is your passion, embrace it," she told Mainebiz. "Seek out education, training and hands-on experiences, and I especially recommend spending time working on a farm and listening to what farmers have to say."
Beal, who was president and CEO of the Maine Farmland Trust before taking on her current role, also recommends networking and finding mentors, as well as stepping up later in one's career to mentor and share knowledge with younger peers.
"Stay committed to your goals, embrace setbacks as learning experiences, and never be afraid to take risks," she added. "The agricultural sector needs the diverse talents and perspectives that young women bring.”
Beal's advice comes as Maine's $1.8 billion agriculture sector attracts a growing crop of women across the state, from laborers to entrepreneurs, who are creating jobs.
Around 44% of the state’s 13,414 agricultural producers in 2017 were women, compared to 36% nationally, placing Maine among the top five states, according to the latest census figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. New and beginning farmers also made up nearly a third of the total in the Pine Tree State.
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