The Impact of Changing Technologies on the Roles of Farm and Ranch Wives in Southeastern Ohio

Abstract

Today's family farm is a unique place, where two work areas, farm and home, intersect. The work of a farm and ranch wife is less fragmented than that of other wives. The process of change – from the older family-based farm roles to contemporary agribusiness – and the impact of this change on farm women's roles are both underdocumented. This chapter looks at perceived role changes over time in a small county in southeastern Ohio. It focuses on how major technological changes have shaped the wives' roles on farms. To understand the full scope of farmwives' role changes one must look at the technological changes in agricultural production, processing and distribution, as well as in domestic tasks. Looking closely at the common words and themes that reoccur in a limited set of interviews is not a highly quantitative scientific measure, and a more sophisticated index of patriarchal attitudes in farming and homemaking can be developed.