Haley Ammann-Ekstrom may have grown up in the industry, but she had a unique way of coming back to it. As a high schooler, she wasn’t sure how to answer the question “What are you going to do for the rest of your life?” but moved forward with what she thought was the best fit: cosmetology school. She graduated and got a great job at the salon in her hometown.
One Saturday morning, she was doing a haircut on a local man who she didn’t even know. He was a young, multigenerational crop farmer and got to talking about his operation. He was very proud to be able to work alongside his father and grandfather on their farm and was passionate about being able to work in a tight knit community in a role that feeds livestock and puts food on the table of others. Haley describes this as a conversation that shook her to her core. She realized she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She quit her job and went back to school to get an ag business + marketing degree. During college, she received the Agricultural Student of the Year Award, which led her to apply for various leadership roles and programs. These experiences really resonated with her- she felt totally at home and at peace in her decision to leave the cosmetology field and enter the ag industry.
Haley has always had very strong mentors and role models in her life- from 4H leaders when she was growing up, to fellow women in agriculture she has connected with both in real life and online. However, Haley’s biggest role model has always been her dad. They’ve always been close, and she looks up to him for not only being her dad and his role in her family, but also for the contributions he has made to the cattle industry and in their community. Now that she is older, she realizes both the importance of knowing that women can look up to men as role models and that strong female role models are important, too.
Agriculture is a heavily male dominated- field. Haley was the only female in her college cohort. When she went full time at the ag cooperative she works at, she was the only woman in the 12-person sales department. She’s the first woman in six generations to take over her family farm. It was easy for her to fall into the mindset of needing to work twice as hard as her male counterparts, never ask for help, and to “stop being so sensitive!”. However, as Haley acknowledges these feelings, she also credits things like her nurturing side, sensitivity, work ethic as being something incredibly unique and valuable that she brings to her operation.
Today, she notes that most of the women she knows as some of the first and best women in the industry care less about being the first and the best, and more about their impact and influence on other women. They care more about showing others that their accomplishments are just as achievable for others as they were for them. This is Haley’s goal for herself- she hopes that others can see her, realize their own potential, and help them on their path.
In the last ten years, she has noted an increase in the number of women in the industry. Once the lone woman, there are now three that work in her division at the coop. Some areas of agriculture, like ag education, have flipped and are now heavily female-dominated. There are more conversations being had that allow females to become both employees in the industry as well as the next-generation owners of family farms.
There is a place for both men and women at the table. Everyone will bring their own strengths that are worth learning from. Working alongside her father and her husband, she points out they all have their own strengths. Recognizing these differences and utilizing them positively is key, Haley says. And sometimes, you can’t wait for an invite to the table. Important conversations are being held everywhere, all the time, and you risk missing out on opportunities if you don’t take action. There’s room for everyone, but sometimes you have to bring your own chair.
Haley hopes the future of women in agriculture is positive and prosperous. She has seen that younger generations are open-minded, curious, and eager to learn, with confidence to boot! So often, as people get older, they play themselves down to fit into these molds to match what they think they should be or what they see others around them as. Haley credits the next generation with being an example for being true to yourself. As they enter the workforce and the industry, it will be fun to see the impact that these young women will have, and to quote Haley directly,
“I can’t wait to see what that looks like.”
