An idea that sparked from a Super Bowl commercial lead to a full-time career and lifelong passion project for Marji Alaniz, founder of FarmHer. In 2013, after more than 11 years and various roles in agriculture insurance, Marji left her job to pursue something new. Although she wasn’t sure what that new role would be, her calling was just around the corner.
The Ahh-Hah Moment
On February 3, 2013, the nation stopped in awe as Ram Truck’s “So God Made a Farmer” Super Bowl commercial aired. A hair-raising advertisement displaying agricultural images old and new rolled across the screen as Paul Harvey’s iconic 1978 Future Farmers of America speech aired in the background.
“I remember everyone stopping and staring,” notes Marji. But, as powerful as the imagery and words came across to Marji, she acknowledged the commercial lacked something: women.
“I remember reading an article in the Washington Post about the commercial, and while the commercial was great, where were the women? After I read the article, I was frustrated. How do we change it?”
Queue light bulb moment.
“Why don’t I start a photography project?”
And so FarmHer was born, a business that wasn’t supposed to be a business at all, but rather a project designed to share the stories of women, farming and food through photography.
A Movement is Born
By spring 2013, Marji had visited her first farm for the project. By July, she had photographed seven people and was receiving positive reactions from people she shared her journey with. She recalls receiving 100 emails in one day.
“I didn’t know exactly what to do from here — a progression that I can define as a snowball rolling and getting bigger and bigger. It wasn’t like I had this perfect vision at the beginning. It has been a journey, I will say, to figure out how to put stable, secure, long-term legs under FarmHer and figure out all of those pieces that keep it sustainable, make it visible and keep it the type of content and quality we want.”
By 2014, FarmHer had moved beyond photography and into merchandise and speaking opportunities. Marji’s calendar began filling up with so many speaking events that she hired her first intern in 2015 who brought new ideas to the table, including the first FarmHer event, GROW. GROW was designed to inspire, educate and empower young women who were engaged or interested in agriculture. Young women were able to connect with more tenured women in the ag industry, get inspired by their stories and learn about different opportunities available.
In the next couple of years, Marji’s career and FarmHer took off exponentially. The inspiring and humbling stories she captured and shared through FarmHer’s media platforms, which included digital video, podcasts, radio, print and social media, transformed narratives into a movement. Women across the agriculture industry began sharing their stories and participating in FarmHer.
By the end of 2015, FarmHer had reached another significant milestone. RFD-TV, the nation’s first 24-hour television network featuring programming focused on agribusiness, equine and rural lifestyles, approached Marji about taking FarmHer to television.
“The opportunity to put all of these women on a stage nationally when no one else was doing anything like it was too great to pass up,” notes Marji. “We started filming in 2016, and the first episodes aired in fall 2016. This changed the game. It changed our brand. It allowed us to tell a richer story and reach over 50 million households.”
Behind the Scenes
Podcasts, television, social media, retail — FarmHer burgeoned from a passion project to a movement in less than a decade, but it took a team of hard-working, like-minded individuals to accomplish what Marji refers to as a “content machine.”
“We now have six people behind the scenes, but that doesn’t include the three at RFD-TV who also work on FarmHer,” notes Marji.
These individuals are vital to capturing and telling stories of women in ag — stories that inspire and change the way women in agriculture are perceived. One of these individuals also happens to be her husband, Tony.
“My husband is a marketing and technology IT person by career. He’s the piece you never see. He’s not one who pokes his head up very often. His technology (knowledge) and ability allow us to have a widespread footprint. He’s the brains behind our voiceover work and produces podcasts and radio shows."
Marji also notes that Tony is a master at juggling kids and schedules — a very important job as both of them strive to achieve work-life balance for their family, including their children, Ava and AJ.
“It’s a juggle. I’ve been in every role — a full-time working mom, stay-at-home mom starting and building a business. There’s no perfection in any of it. You have to make sure that you’re checking yourself and spending your time the way that will matter most when you’re 80 and looking back at it.”
Future of FarmHer
Marji acknowledges that 2021 is probably going to look different for FarmHer. She hopes to continue to grow digitally but also expand on the types of individuals they feature in their content.
“We love talking to farmers — we love that — but we also know that we have an ability to keep talking to people who aren’t farmers and to tell stories about people who do not have one foot on the farm. We’re going to focus on folding in women who have leadership in this industry.”
If you know an inspirational woman who would be a great feature for one of Marji’s future stories, suggest a FarmHer here.
Marji also hopes to inspire girls and young women to pursue a career in agriculture in addition to educating those outside of the industry of the important roles women play in the industry that feeds and fuels the world.
“We want people to understand that when you eat every day, there is a person or a family or a community behind it. It probably doesn’t look the way that you think it does. It probably looks a whole lot different than what you have in your mind. If we can change one person’s perception about what they can think a woman can do or what a farmer is, that’s a win.”
Last year, Stine partnered with FarmHer, the Iowa 4-H Program and Iowa FFA Foundation to establish Iowa’s first Women in Agriculture Day on March 26, and we’re hoping to continue celebrating the recognition in the years to come.
Congratulations to Marji and the entire FarmHer team on their success. You’ve set an example for us to follow, and we look forward to celebrating women in ag now and in the future through inspiring stories like yours.