Why We Need Women In Agriculture
There’s a saying: "If you teach a man to farm, his family will eat. If you teach a woman to farm, the whole community will eat.”
As Arizona shifts further into a space where water shortages, climate challenges, and social justice issues are changing how we farm and ranch, female innovative minds are needed more than ever. Rapid urbanization and economic development plans are paving over our farmland, and a woman’s way of acting communally and maternally is needed to rethink how we grow food, where we grow food, and why we grow food.
Female farmers are creating alternative narratives to the extractive way of producing food. They are recentering food production on nature-based, community-focused solutions with the purpose of providing nutrient-dense food to their communities while also stewarding the land and our natural resources.
Did you know? According to the 2019 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, more than half (51 percent) of all farming operations in the United States had at least one woman operator. Over 48% of Arizona farmers are women, making it the state with the highest portion of women farmers in the country.
From the Navajo Nation to South Phoenix, meet several of the state’s female farmers and food system advocates, redefining what agriculture in Arizona looks like.
Stories of Arizona Women Transforming our Food System
You can support Nika and the Heart & Soil garden by attending one of their events or by following them on social media.
Chanika Forte, Heart & Soil People’s Garden & Baehive
Chanika “Nika” Forte is the garden director of Heart & Soil People’s Garden, a women-led urban farm in South Phoenix that grows over 14,000 pounds of fresh produce for local families. She is also the founder of Baehive, a sisterhood dedicated to educating and empowering a new generation of female beekeepers. With her hands deep in the soil, Nika is cultivating more than just crops - she’s growing a movement of female farmers, growers, and food leaders.
Farming is in Nika’s DNA. A seventh-generation farmer, her great-great-great-grandmother was one of the first Black women to own a farm in Linden, Alabama in the 1920s. Though she initially pursued alternative medicine and life coaching, she discovered her passion for agriculture while interning at St. Vincent De Paul’s urban farm. Seven years later, her dedication to growing food and increasing access to fresh, healthy produce remains at the forefront of her work.
Heart & Soil has recently expanded its programming to include more volunteer days, workshops, and educational events. A major milestone includes the purchase of a lot adjacent to the main garden, where plans are in motion for an educational center focused on sustainable farming, food systems, and community development. This space will provide year-round learning opportunities, even during the hottest months.
At Baehive, in-person classes are currently on hold as the program transitions to a self-paced virtual format. This shift will allow more women to access training in beekeeping, strengthening the sisterhood and broadening its impact.
Beyond her work in the garden, Nika has stepped into the policy space. In March 2024, she was invited to Washington, D.C., by Earth Justice to advocate for urban farmers in discussions about the U.S. Farm Bill. This experience deepened her passion for food sovereignty and strengthened her commitment to supporting those on the front lines of feeding their communities.
Much of Nika’s work focuses on challenging traditional perceptions of farmers and inspiring more women to step into agriculture. “Women have been the caretakers of the earth for centuries,” she explains. “If we empower women and give them the tools to succeed, they can lift families out of poverty and help end food insecurity.”
With over 38 million Americans living in food-insecure households and food prices continuing to rise, the need for local, sustainable food systems is more urgent than ever. Through Heart & Soil and Baehive, Nika is reclaiming food sovereignty, creating access to local, healthy food, and ensuring that knowledge is passed down for generations to come.
Cherilyn Yazzie, Coffee Pot Farms
Coffee Pot Farms is a 36-acre farm located in Dilkon, Arizona run by a husband-wife team that is committed to growing fresh vegetables for Navajo families. Farmer Cherilyn Yazzie takes the healing power of food to a deeper level with the farm’s mission: “Food is the first medicine, as it comes from Mother Earth; and food sovereignty is the critical first step to creating healthy communities and healthy families.”
Farming is part of Cherilyn's ancestry. Her paternal grandfather and grandmother were farmers and sheep herders. However, Cherilyn didn't start out as a farmer. She worked as a social worker before jumping into farming and has directed her passion for public health and nutrition to empower her community. While working on nutrition prevention programs in her day job, she started questioning the food system within Indigenous communities and wondered how her community could actually access healthy, fresh food.
When Cherilyn first started the farm, growing food seemed to be a daunting task, as she didn’t know the first thing about farming or if it would even be possible for them to grow enough food to feed her community. But, she didn't let her fears or the unknown stop her. Arizona's terrain offers unique challenges as an arid-hot landscape.Through lots of experimenting with the land and advice from farmers like Kim Costion-Howell who has years of knowledge in dryland farming, Cherilyn and her husband built the original infrastructure of Coffee Pot Farms. Coffee Pot Farms has now grown into a 36-acre successful farming operation.
Cherilyn’s farm feeds families across the Navajo Nation and offers nutrient-dense, freshly grown produce like greens, tomatoes, squash, peppers, and more. It is their way of helping to build a stronger and more resilient food system.
When it comes to women in farming, Cherilyn said, “We need to be at the table. We will always be the ones cooking and preparing food. We know the nutritional needs that go into our families, our farms, into the soil, and into the end product. Women need to be at the table at the policy level to help change the systems.”
Cherilyn is not only making actionable strides everyday by feeding and nourishing her community, she was recently appointed a council delegate for the Navajo Nation Council and strives to make changes at a policy level.
By growing and providing high-quality produce, she hopes to nourish her Navajo community and encourage the use of food as a way to reconnect with their ancestors and descendants. When asked about the next generations of women farmers, Cherilyn offered this piece of advice: “Ask questions, question the system, and represent your community.”
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Veronika Jollivette - Sweet Acacia Farm / Sweet Acacia Ag Solutions / The Local Co-op
Veronika bridges the gap between technology and local food systems, managing the backend digital operations of The Local Co-op’s Farm Box (CSA) program, overseeing social media and digital marketing, and leveraging her e-commerce background to create stronger markets for small farms in Cochise County.
Through her consultancy business, Sweet Acacia Ag Solutions, she helps small farm and food businesses modernize their operations, ensuring they have the digital tools to thrive in today’s economy.
Beyond the tech side, Veronika is also a budding farmer at Sweet Acacia Farm, where she focuses on climate-adaptive and wild-harvested crops. She is developing an agroforestry system designed for resilience in the Southwest and plans to bring her harvest to market this summer.
Visit Emily at the Uptown Phoenix Farmers Market or follow her journey on social media.
Emily Heller, Bene Vivendo
Emily Heller of Bene Vivendo is a Phoenix-based farmer who specializes in growing vegetables, herbs, fruit, and flowers. It wasn’t until after she shifted into her third professional career that she became serious about growing full time. After becoming a Master Gardener, Emily found other beginning farmer programs and dove deeper into farming, completing multiple sequences in Maricopa and Pinal. With only a big backyard to grow in, she began taking produce and flowers that she grew to sell at Uptown Farmers Market. Even with a small space to grow in, Emily's success – which she attributes to her deep connection to Mother Nature – can be seen through her gorgeous bouquet of flowers, seasonal produce, and her loyal customer base who make the trek to her farmers market stand every week.
Encouraged by her community and loyal customer base, she began leasing small patches of land outside her backyard to expand her growing operations. During the challenges and struggles that most Arizona farmers deal with, Emily perseveres by reminding herself: “Head down and farm.”
To Emily, the act of growing food and flowers goes far beyond her love of it. “Feeding people is an experience like no other,” she said. “When the food and flowers you’ve grown become an experience of delicious nourishment, food memory, and joy, this is the superpower of farming. It feels like magic.”
Emily wants other women farmers to know that it is meaningful to participate in the local food and flower economy, even as a small-scale producer.
Drinking Gourd Farms
Drinking Gourd Farms is a network of Black and African American homesteaders, farmers, and gardeners who are transforming vacant lots, apartment balconies, backyards, and public spaces into food-growing spaces. Farmer Ibado Mahmud and other refugee women farmers are part of the Drinking Gourd Farms collective who are creating pathways of self-sufficiency for themselves and other families across Phoenix. Ibado said the motivation behind their operation is to create healthy food sources from the ground up and liberate their community from a food system that “doesn't have their best interests at heart.”
Support Drinking Gourd Farms by following them on social media or head over to their website to learn more about their mission.
Their motto: “To free us, the first thing we must do is feed us” guides the farming collective as they continue to grow fresh, nutrient-dense food that is distributed to women and families on a regular basis. “Eating a healthy balanced diet directly correlates with your quality of life and mental health,” said Ibado, adding that this is another reason they put so much heart into the work they do.
When starting Drinking Gourd Farms, the collective set out to provide a space for individuals to come and learn how to grow their own food and provide for their families. She noted, their farm is a place to “give opportunities to the community to help themselves.” Drinking Gourd Farms provides the knowledge and space for women to learn farming skills and also provides fresh, seasonal produce grown by the community, for the community.
The collective does not sell any produce they grow on their garden sites; instead, they distribute it to the people who need it. Ibado added, “We believe that healthy food is a human right, so that is exactly what we are providing.”
For women who want to start farming or growing their own food, Ibado advised, “It’s okay to fail. We learn by trial and error, so do not give up. Be consistent, and you will become fruitful. Be patient with yourself. You can grow healthy food easily and in your backyard. It is so empowering to know that your hands grew something that is going to feed you.”
Drinking Gourd Farm hopes to bring more like-minded people into their community and to celebrate the incredible healing power of locally grown food.
Check out the amazing work of The Local Co-op here!
Jessica Stanley, The Local Co-op
Jessica Stanley is the Retail Director at The Local Co-op, where she manages retail operations, sources fresh products from partner farms in the northern part of Cochise County, and oversees purchasing for the grocery selection.
A key part of her role is reaching out to farms and food producers to bring their products into the shop, expanding market opportunities for local growers while ensuring the community has access to high-quality, seasonal food. By working closely with farmers, she helps bridge the gap between producers and consumers, making it easier for people to connect with and support their local food system.
Follow the Food Forest Cooperative on social media to learn more.
Maria Parro Cano, Food Forest Cooperative
Maria Parra Cano is a healer, farmer, community supporter, entrepreneur, chef, mother, wife, founder, and more. She is deeply rooted in her community, and her work focuses on healing Indigenous communities through various different avenues, one being through the The Food Forest Cooperative.
The Food Forest Cooperative is on a mission to provide fresh, regionally, and culturally appropriate foods through sustainable, regenerative farming practices that support the surrounding ecological life and Phoenix community.
This type of work takes dedication and passion, and the women behind the Food Forest Cooperative are full of both. Maria shared her experience of being a woman farmer, as well as working alongside other powerful women in this space. “Four of the five founding members/co-owners are female and active in the nurturing of the daily operations. Our fifth member, Brian Cano, is also a powerhouse and the essential muscle to the team. Alexis Ruby Trevizo, Ali LoPiccolo, Chanel Evans, and I have been growing together since March 2021. We have grown together as farmers, colleagues, sisters, and business owners. Each of us holds our own expertise and passion for the work we do.”
The journey of getting the Food Forest Cooperative up and running wasn't easy. The idea of creating a sustainable cooperative was formed in 2017, but the first seeds weren’t sowed until February of 2022. In between the initial dream and what the Cooperative is now, countless hours of research, planning, and finding funding were happening behind the scenes. The challenges never stopped for the Food Forest Cooperative team. “We’ve had some challenges in navigating relationships in this work, but we are true to our mission and goals,” she said, “We are active strategists and communicators – we figure out ways to get things done!”
Because they pushed through the challenges, the women of the Food Forest Cooperative are now able to honor the Indigenous plants, medicine, and foods that are culturally relevant and adapted to the Arizona climate. Maria added, “I look forward to many more years of growing as individuals, colleagues, and at the food forest.”
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Kimberly Kling, Joyful Roots
Kimberly Kling is a clinical herbalist and the driving force behind Joyful Roots in Southern Arizona. She collaborates with individuals and communities to support wellness through personalized herbal care, education, and sustainable practices. With a background in landscape architecture and engineering, she has long explored the connections between plants, people, and the land. However, it was motherhood and a personal health crisis that led her to clinical herbalism, deepening her passion for holistic well-being.
Believing that nourishment is at the heart of wellness, Kimberly integrates food and herbalism to support both individual and community health. Her Kitchen Herbalism for Immune Support class, for example, teaches accessible ways to incorporate herbs and whole foods into daily life. She is excited to partner with The Local Co-op to educate the public on how food choices and lifestyle factors contribute to long-term vitality. By bridging the gap between nutrition, herbalism, and sustainable food systems, Kimberly empowers others to cultivate resilience through the wisdom of plants and the nourishment of real food.
Trinity Montague, Montapata Farms
Montapata Farms is a small family run organic farm located in Cornville that is focused on organic produce, microgreens, herbal tinctures, and more. Trinity and her family may be new to farming, but their passion for growing food has already led them to be successful in many ways.
Their farm was purchased a few years ago but not with the intention to grow food. Originally, they purchased land with the idea of it being their retirement home. But, when Covid hit in 2020, they reevaluated their plans and moved from Phoenix to Cornville. With grocery stores running low on fresh food and not being the most reliable source for food long term, Trinity and her family began to think, “We need to figure out a way to grow food ourselves.”
Follow Montapata Farms to stay in the know on what they’re growing and how their farm continues to evolve.
Having just moved to Cornville, Trinity and her partner, Dominique, weren’t sure what to expect. “Being a gay couple with lots of mixed races in our small family and moving to a conservative small town was a little worrying,” she said. “We had been up to Cornville many times for camping, wine tasting, and vacationing so we were familiar, but living there is a whole different beast. Or, so we thought. But, immediately we were greeted with open arms.”
One of the best ways to learn about food as a new farmer is experimenting with the land and leaning on farmers who have knowledge and lived experiences– so that's exactly what they did. “Our immediate neighbors, a 70-year old organic farmer and his Veteran Marine son, moseyed over to introduce themselves,” Trinity said. “After introductions, we immediately planned a potluck BBQ and literally have been best friends ever since. “Dad,” as I now call him, came over with a bag of his homemade, nutrient-dense compost, a few packs of seeds that seemed to be from the 1970s, and a little bucket of lettuce. He said: “Lets just throw them in the ground and see what we get.”
And just like that, their first vegetable was grown. “It was the most amazing feeling all of us had ever felt,” she shared. “Literal tears of joy over a carrot!” That’s when they realized that this was the life they wanted. “In a time where families were turning on each other and people were falling apart– people full of anger, racism, and rage – we found peace with this small piece of dirt.”
Like most women in the farming space, Trinity has dealt with hurdles and obstacles but she said, “These NOs have created something different. A stronger passion, a bigger need, and a louder calling to be the best. Women are strong and resilient because we’ve had to be, but also we bring a certain compassion and caring component to life. We are the creators of life. It only makes sense that we become the farmers, the growers, and the makers.”
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Shonri Begay, Three Sisters Bean Farm
Three Sisters Bean Farm is a small operation, dedicated to growing heirloom beans. Shonri Begay, a Tohono O’odham and Diné farmer, runs the farm alongside her mother, Cruz Begay, and close friend, Carol Fritzinger. Together, they cultivate beans that have been a staple in Native diets for generations and that will continue to grow reliably in a changing climate. Their land base is small and high yield crop production may never be feasible, but the farm has been successful in growing seed supplies and as a site for education and mentorship. Three Sisters invites High school groups and youth volunteers to visit and learn about how they practice regenerative agriculture and the joy of growing multicolored varieties of an often overlooked crop. The work they do is about more than just crops—it’s about practicing the skills we need for food security and sharing those skills and seeds with the community.
Shonri came to farming after originally pursuing a career in healthcare. She holds a B.S. in Biomedical Science with a Minor in American Indian Health Studies from Northern Arizona University. While working for several years on community health initiatives in the fields of Chronic Disease prevention and Youth Suicide Prevention traditional lifeways and gardening emerged as path for her own healing journey. In addition to the health benefits, Shonri feels that farming is a way to bridge the gap between past and present and makes her feel closer to both her Diné and Tohono O'odham grandmothers who shared a similar passion.
Follow Ravina Arizona on instagram to get your hands on some microgreens!
Kim Vu, Ravina Arizona
Ravina is a small but mighty microgreens farm located in the Sulphur Springs Valley. As the owner and operator, Kim’s mission is to provide the local community with flavor-packed, super nutrient-dense greens. She takes pride in growing clean, long-lasting produce, which can be found at The Local Co-op, The Sierra Vista Farmers Market, and select restaurants in Bisbee.
For Kim, working with plants has been a powerful antidote to stress, and she finds it surprising that farming remains a male-dominated industry. Microgreens have allowed her to farm without the need for heavy equipment, instead requiring a light-duty nursery where each individual tray of sprouts receives twice-daily care. She has discovered a positive feedback loop in which nurture and attention translate into high yields, high-quality produce, and meaningful connections with customers.
“Being a woman in ag feels natural and healthy, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to make money raising these little baby plants,” she shared.
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Jillian, Likha’s Veggies / The Local Co-op
As Operations Director at The Local Co-op, Jillian works with farmers to aggregate their products, bring them to market, and supply local food banks with fresh produce for weekly distributions and meal preparations. Her role strengthens the connection between farmers and consumers, ensuring the community has access to nutritious, locally grown food.
Beyond the co-op, Jillian runs Likha’s Veggies, her small, two-acre farm dedicated to growing diverse crops. For her, farming is more than a profession—it’s a way to nourish the community and build a resilient local food system. She is grateful to work alongside dedicated farmers, ranchers, and food producers, learning and growing together while making local food more accessible for all.
Learn more about Shamba AZ by following them!
Avrile Remy, Shamba AZ
Avrile, the owner and operator of Shamba AZ, a microgreens and urban farm, has been growing commercially since early 2022 but has been an avid gardener for a lifetime. Her passion for growing food runs deep, rooted in a childhood in the Caribbean, where her parents owned a farm that supplied produce for export and local consumers. Growing up on an island with abundant fresh food instilled in her a deep appreciation for its accessibility—an experience she believes everyone should have.
Through Shamba AZ, Avrile aims to contribute to the local food system and replicate that experience within the community. As a woman in farming, she has embraced both the challenges and rewards of growing food in an extreme climate. Running a microgreens business in Phoenix has required adaptability, innovation, and resilience—whether through mastering heat-resistant growing techniques or optimizing efficiency in a small space. Farming has instilled in her patience, strength, and an appreciation for high-quality tools. She takes pride in producing nutrient-dense food while demonstrating that women can thrive in agriculture, regardless of the environment.
Follow Florence & Rose Floral Co. on social media to learn more and find local flowers.
Marin Kees, Florence & Rose Floral Co.
Marin Kees is the owner of Florence & Rose Floral Co., a business she started in July of 2022 with one mission: to get more locally grown flowers into clients' hands and learn to grow her own. In 2018, when she had the opportunity to work for a flower shop in Durham, North Carolina, she had no idea it would become the outlet for her lifelong dream. The shop sourced organically grown flowers from local growers whenever possible, and the flowers were simply divine. She loved knowing where the product came from and wanted to do the same when she moved back to her home state of Arizona. She began researching and connecting with other growers in the valley to source flowers, enjoying the sense of community and support among like-minded individuals. To her surprise, many of the flowers she loved in North Carolina could also thrive in the desert. Inspired by the beauty of the farm-to-table concept, she decided to start her own business.
Flowers have always surrounded Marin—from her mother, who was a florist, to her grandmother, who owned a flower shop, and even her great-grandparents, who were farmers and flower growers in Indiana. However, it wasn't until she walked through that curved door on Chapel Hill Rd. that her future truly began to take shape.
Since her time in North Carolina, she had an intense urge to grow flowers, but space, funds, time, and knowledge initially held her back. After attending conferences, reading books, watching videos, and seeking wisdom from others, she finally took the plunge in 2024 and created her own garden. It was the best decision she had ever made, bringing immense joy to her work as a florist, knowing she could cut and deliver her own organically grown stems to clients.
As a new grower with limited space, Marin remains eager to learn, seek new opportunities, and listen to others for guidance. She understands that trial and error is an essential part of the beginning stages. Despite challenges such as critters, pests, and unpredictable weather, she continues to discover what works and what doesn’t, with perseverance as her guiding principle. Not only has she created happiness for herself, but she has also provided a haven for pollinators—an unexpected but deeply rewarding outcome.
Looking ahead, Marin envisions expanding her flower varieties, working toward year-round blooms, and educating others on the importance of locally grown flowers. With endless possibilities, she is excited for the future as a female grower in the floral industry.