The Estate Tax is a hot topic of discussion this year and it has been on the forefront of farm policy for some time. Recently, I ran across an article in the February 2002 issue of Farm Journal about Laura Lane.
Lauran Lane was the Farm Journal Women’s Editor. She grew up in Vernon, Texas and saw firsthand the toll on farm wives as their husbands passed before them during the 1950’s and 60’s. During her career at Farm Journal, Lane made great strides in advocating for women’s contributions on farms. She watched the contribution of women on the farm be majorly discounted even though their farm contributions were great and made it her goal to ensure women received the credit they deserved.
Laura Lane
The legacy of supporting women’s rights at Farm Journal was started by our founder, Wilmer Atkinson, who, although a Pennsylvanian Amish farmer, believed in the importance of recognizing the role of women on the farm. Laura Lane continued this legacy during her time with Farm Journal working to change the death tax law. Lane traveled the country writing about the issue, speaking to women and even testifying at our nation’s capital. During her career she created the term “widow’s tax” which was used by Presidents Ford and Carter. Her hard work was rewarded by 1982 when the “widow’s tax” was abolished.
We lost Laura Lane to a heart attack in December of 2002, but we continue to uphold her legacy of advocating for women in agriculture. It makes me proud to work for a company that not only supports the role of women on the farm today, but from its founding in 1877, has upheld a legacy of acknowledging the role of women in agriculture.
Women in Agriculture Statistics (According to the USDA)
· Today approximately 165,000 farms are run by women.
· Women farm operators own the farm and live there too!
· Coincidently after 1982 (the same year the widow’s tax was finally abolished) the average age of women farmers began to decrease and by 1997 nearly 40% of them were under age 55.
Further Information
Women of Agriculture
New Estate Tax Laws Good For Farmers
How to Gift Your Children
