“There is no other way I would have wanted to be raised or raise my own kids. It’s not an easy life by any means but a good life and it’s REAL!“

Q: Tell us about your agricultural operation, your background and how you got started in agriculture. 

My family is third generation beef ranchers and dairy farmers originally from Mesquite, Nevada. My dad ran a small herd of 350 heads of mother cows.  In 1994 he sold out and we moved to the Sunnyside Ranch 30 miles south of Lund, Nevada, where we ran 1200 head of mother cows. I ran the ranch right alongside my father for 17 years until he sold a big piece of it in 2019 then shortly thereafter in 2020 he passed away. I now, with the help of my family, run 300 head and travel all over the country with my daughters, showing livestock: pigs, goats, lambs and steers. The livestock industry is everything to my family and has impacted my life from day one and there is no other way I would have wanted to be raised or raise my own kids. It’s not an easy life by any means but a good life and it’s REAL!

Q: What does working in agriculture, and specifically being a woman in agriculture, mean to you?

It’s not easy being a woman in the agricultural life but there’s nothing wrong with that. If we wanted it easy, we wouldn’t be here.

Q: What do you wish the next generation of women in agriculture would know about your work? What advice would you give them?

Let the boys do the heavy lifting. It doesn’t mean they are any handier than you; they are better built for it. Believe you me, my body is paying for trying to keep up with the boys.

Q: Have you had access to formal education or informal training programs to help you grow your operation?

Not necessarily, but most of this life is learned in the brush and branding pens not in a classroom.

Q: What technologies or innovations have made the biggest difference on your farm? How do you stay informed about best practices, weather, markets, or new technologies?

Talking to other ranchers and asking for advice.