Scrub the floor, combine the corn, do the dishes, vaccinate the cows.

For some women in Story County, this list of chores is normal.

According to the 2002 Iowa Census of Agriculture, there were 918 men and 59 women were the principal operators of a farm in Story County.

Martha Bakke is one of these women.

Bakke, 56, has independently farmed 300 acres near Roland since her father died in 1975.

“I do it all. I buy seed and chemicals. I own machinery. I own ground and rent ground. I take out loans,” Bakke said.

But farming was not always the career Bakke had in mind.

“Before 1975, I was teaching in a high school in Northwest Iowa. When my father’s health started failing, I came back and started helping. I didn’t know it then, but he was guiding me and teaching me about farming. I think he knew something I didn’t,” Bakke said.

When her father died, Bakke moved back to Roland to keep the land in the family’s name.

“I could have rented out the land, but I told Dad I would take care of things, and I did,” Bakke said.

Though Bakke is involved in production agriculture, women all over Iowa play various roles in Iowa’s role in agriculture.

According to 2004 fall enrollment figures, the ISU College of Agriculture has 989 undergraduate students and 282 graduate students are women, compared with 1,488 male undergraduates and 408 male graduate students.

Tara Brass, senior in agricultural business, chose to come to Iowa State because she wanted to take what she had learned growing up on a farm in North-central Iowa and use it in the future.

Brass — who has been involved in agriculture by serving as an Agricultural Council representative, the Agriculture Career Day coordinator, and a member of Alpha Zeta agricultural honorary society — said that she has enjoyed being active within the ISU College of Agriculture at Iowa State, even though it is dominated by men.

“I think it is more of a challenge for women in agriculture at Iowa State,” she said. “It is a challenge going to classes with mostly guys who know their farming operations inside and out, but the guys are very interested in what I have to say, too. If I have questions with anything discussed in class, the guys are more than willing to lend me a hand.”

Bakke agrees that men in the agriculture industry with whom she interacts have been nothing but helpful.

“I injured part of my pelvic bone in a bike accident this past fall. When it was time to harvest my corn, I was hoping that a few of my cousins could help,” she said. “I was awe-struck when 40 guys showed up with nine combines and 12 grain carts and finished my harvesting in three hours. It was a deeply humbling experience.”

Gretchen Zdorkowski, lecturer of agronomy, is teaching her first class of agricultural undergraduates this fall.

“My background is in geography, and, in geography, we have hybrids of people from various backgrounds. In agriculture, when you talk about hybrids, you are talking about seed.”

Zdorskowksi made the transition to agriculture because of her deep interest in sustainable agriculture.

She said she enjoys what she does, but added that it is not without challenges.

“I think a lot of the guys in the class I teach are used to information coming from a male with a lot of farming experience,” Zdorkowski said.

Mary Wiedenhoeft, associate professor of agronomy, who did her undergraduate work at Iowa State, said it is important for women in the College of Agriculture to be confident.

“I have never felt discriminated. Growing up on a farm and being involved in 4-H, I have always been able to speak my mind,” Wiedenhoeft said.

“Women in general are more inclusive in discussion and planning. We are more likely to say, ‘You know how to do this better, can you help me,’ while men take more individual roles in getting things done.”

Wiedenhoeft is working with other female colleagues in agriculture to provide networking opportunities for female undergraduates.

“In the past couple of years, we have started giving students the opportunity to meet with professional women outside of class,” Wiedenhoeft said.

“Now that we have received some money, we look forward to continuing these opportunities in the future.”

Brass said she knows why she is a student in the College of Agriculture, she is not sure where her degree in agricultural business will take her.

“People ask me if I am going to marry a farmer all the time,” she said.

“I don’t really know. I might be a Suzy Homemaker and take lunch out to the guys, or I might not. It just depends on where life takes me.”

Bakke said the key to being a successful woman in a male-dominated agricultural world is to be optimistic that the careers they have chosen are very rewarding.

“You can’t go around with a chip on your shoulder. You are no different or special as a woman. If you are competent about what you are talking about, you’ll be just fine,” Bakke said.