LGBTQ farmers sow the seeds of visibility

Published July 28, 2022 at 12:52 PM EDT

Shae Pesek (left) and Anna Hankins (right) own and operate Over the Moon Farm and Flowers in Coggon, Iowa. “We’ve had a lot of support, honestly, especially from our very local community. There’s a lot of people that will tell us like, ’Oh, I showed my queer relative your page, and they were really excited to know that you existed,’” Pesek said. (Catherine Wheeler/Iowa Public Radio and Harvest Public Media)

There aren’t many statistics on how many farmers belong to the LGBTQ community in the U.S. But some are making a point of being more visible and creating community.

They’re also challenging some of the barriers to getting started in agriculture.

Catherine Wheeler of Iowa Public Radio reports for Harvest Public Media.

Hannah Breckbill stands near the vegetable patches at her farm Humble Hands Harvest. She began the annual Queer Farmer Convergence to help connect the LGBTQ agricultural community. (Catherine Wheeler/Iowa Public Radio and Harvest Public Media)

Shae Pesek lets the chickens out of the greenhouse following a rainy morning. Growing up on her family’s farm in Iowa she couldn’t envision being out and living in a rural community. (Catherine Wheeler/Iowa Public Radio and Harvest Public Media)

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.