Women in agriculture paving a path for the future

Just north of Leigh, Nebraska, Whitney Brabec and her husband, Kyle, are raising more than just crops and cattle. They're raising three young daughters, carrying on a generational connection to agriculture, and building a life rooted in hard work, resilience, and family. It's more than a livelihood, it's a legacy. 

"I was actually born and raised on a farm just north of Columbus," Whitney says. "Farming has just always been a passion of mine. I love to be involved in it, running the equipment, working with the animals. I guess when I was younger, I always knew I'd rather be outside helping farm with dad than going shopping with mom and my sisters." 

Her passion in the field started at a young age from her family. Today, she has the same passion with a family of her own as they grow up in a lifestyle they can admire. "Dad would always take me under his wing," she says. "I love every aspect of it and just running the equipment and working with the animals." 

Now as a wife, mother, postal employee and full-time farmer, Whitney is bringing those same values forward into a new generation, not just through the crops they grow or the cattle they raise, but in the lessons her daughters learn daily by living close to the work that feeds their family and others. 

"Growing up on a farm is probably, in my eyes, the best way to raise a young family," she says. "There are so many experiences, so many things they get to take part in that most kids never get to do. We raise and butcher our own beef, so they understand where their food comes from and how we help grow it. They get to be part of that process." 

For Whitney, the connection between farm and family is inseparable. Helping her daughters get involved in 4-H offers them lifelong skills they couldn't get anywhere else. Whitney grew up knowing the life the farm can offer, she can now offer that same life to her kids as a way of teaching responsibility and gratitude. 

"I'm not saying our daughters are going to grow up and want to be farmers someday, and that's fine," Whitney says with a smile. "But just knowing that we're giving them the best childhood that we can, that's rewarding in itself. 

Though agriculture is often seen as a male-dominated world, there is nothing Whitney couldn't do. 

"Being a female in a male's world of farming, I haven't really seen it as a downfall," she says. "You just jump right in. If you don't know how to do something, you keep trying until you learn. Everybody makes mistakes. But it's how you learn from those mistakes that matters." 

It's a message she's passionate about sharing. There is nothing stopping a woman from being in the driver's seat. After building a sense of confidence in her abilities, there is no challenge from the farm that can go unsettled. 

"Just don't use your gender as an excuse," Whitney says. "Women can do it too. You can learn how to drive a truck. You can be involved as you want to be. Don't sell yourself short thinking, 'Well, I'm a woman, I probably can't do that.' That's just an excuse. You work hard every day. See what new skills you can learn. Don't settle for the buddy seat. If you want to be in the driver's seat, then work toward it." 

That grit and confidence don't come from ease, but experience. From doing the work, from falling and getting up again. There are plenty of those moments in the agriculture industry. Weather, markets, and the sheer unpredictability of each growing season are constant reminders that success is never guaranteed. But for Whitney, that's exactly what makes farming special. 

"The faith of a farmer is doing it again next year, even when the last year didn't turn out," she says. "The faith is just that you're going to go plant this, and it's going to grow. You believe in it. You have to keep going. You overcome it by sticking together and working through it." 

She has put her faith into the ground with perseverance, a quality anyone in agriculture can use to focus on while navigating through the toughest industry that supports the world. The lessons that are learned through the industry, are passed down through generations. From Whitney's father, to herself, and onto her children. 

"There might be tough days or bad days," Whitney adds, "but you know what? There's still tomorrow. There's two days you can't do anything about, and that's yesterday and tomorrow. So, you just kind of live in the moment and do the best you can today." 

Whitney credits much of her success to the hands-on experiences at the side of her dad as she was growing up, and still today. Learning independence and resourcefulness from her family, she's passing that experience on to her daughters. Not by assigning the farm work as a job, but by letting them be part of the work. 

"Hopefully we instill values, hard work, and good character," Whitney says. "Someday an employer might say, 'Well you grew up on a farm. I want you to come work for me.' Just something about a farm kid... they know how to get the job done." 

But perhaps one of the most meaningful moments came when her dad, the man who first put her in the buddy seat, came back to see what she's built for herself. "There's always moments to learn and we'll keep learning," she says. "But having him come back and see me being able to do that, after growing up watching him. That's pretty cool." 

For Whitney, farming isn't just about crops or cattle. It's about taking what she has learned, advancing it, and passing it onto those around her. Something strong, something steady. Something worth doing, even when it's hard. 

"If it's what you love, you're doing what you love every day," she says. "And that's the reward." 

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