To foster connection among LGBTQ farmers and other workers in the agricultural industry, several people have created social and professional networks.
“Many of our LGBTQ members in the rural areas talk about this sense of isolation, and how difficult it can be to make connections with others,” said Bill Hendrix, a board member of theCultivating Change Foundation, an advocacy organization for LGBTQ agriculturists.
Other websites and listservs foster community, such as the Queer Farmer Network.
The Queer Farmer Convergence, an annual gathering at Hannah Breckbill’s Decorah, Iowa, farm, features workshops and kindles connections through activities like “weed dating.”
“It’s like speed dating, but you're over a row of weeds with people and then you rotate every five minutes,” Breckbill said. “Farmers will definitely tell you the best conversations ever happen while working together. So, we just capitalize on that for potential romance.”
The website Not Our Farm celebrates the overlooked stories of farm workers, farm employees, members of farm crews, farm managers, apprentices and interns, many of whom identify as LGBTQ.