It is not uncommon for curious salesmen, nutritionists and other dairy producers that come to our dairy farm to ask, “Why do you have goats? Is that a peacock?” These people – familiar with modern dairy operations here in the West – aren’t accustomed and don’t expect to see anything besides a cow when they visit a dairy.

Female leadership is lacking in Idaho’s dairy organizations. The number of women serving on the boards of Idaho’s dairy organizations is hauntingly close to Agatha Christie’s best-selling mystery novel And Then There Were None (sometimes known as Ten Little Indians).

Ideas to improve dairywomen’s participation in U.S. dairy organizations Women perform a variety of important roles on dairy farms today, be it farm work, administrative duties, working off the farm or raising the next generation. However, some dairy organizations in charge of promoting dairy products, drafting public policy, creating the image of dairy and communicating to the public have few female members.