WHILE THERE IS TREMENDOUS VARIATION ACROSS WOMEN FARM OPERATORS, AS A GROUP THEY ARE CONSIDERED SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS BY THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA). FARMS OPERATED BY WOMEN ARE MUCH SMALLER (AVERAGE = 171 ACRES, MEDIAN = 40 ACRES) THAN MEN-OPERATED FARMS (AVERAGE = 413 ACRES, MEDIAN = 90 ACRES). EVEN MORE STRIKING ARE GENDER-BASED DIFFERENCES IN AVERAGE SALES AND AVERAGE FARM INCOME. IN 2012, AVERAGE FARM INCOME WAS ONLY $137 FOR WOMEN-OPERATED FARMS COMPARED TO $25,009 FOR MEN-OPERATED FARMS. MANY FARMERS, ESPECIALLY WOMEN, MUST RELY ON OFF-FARM INCOME FOR THEIR LIVELIHOOD. IN FACT, ONLY 32% OF WOMEN AND 47% OF MEN PRINCIPAL OPERATORS HAVE FARMING OR RANCH WORK AS THEIR MAJOR OCCUPATION. IN ADDITION, WOMEN WHO FARM EXPERIENCE ONE OF THE LARGEST OCCUPATIONAL WAGE GAPS IN THE US, REGARDLESS OF THEIR STATUS AS CONVENTIONAL OR SUSTAINABLE FARMERS. AT THE SAME TIME, THE NUMBER OF WOMEN FARM OPERATORS CONTINUES TO INCREASE. THIS UNDERSCORES THE NEED FOR RESEARCH AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES THAT SUPPORT WOMEN FARMERS IN ACHIEVING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING FOR THEMSELVES AND, BY EXTENSION, THEIR FAMILIES, COMMUNITY AND STATE. UNFORTUNATELY, MOST OF THE RESEARCH ON WOMEN INVOLVED IN FARMING HAS NOT FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS THAT CREATE THIS INEQUALITY. INSTEAD, RESEARCH ON WOMEN IN US AGRICULTURE HAS FOCUSED ON WOMEN'S IDEOLOGICAL REASONS FOR FARMING (WHY THEY WANT TO FARM OR RANCH), AND IGNORED THE STRUCTURAL CONDITIONS (HOW THEY ACCESSED THE NECESSARY RESOURCES) THAT FRAME THEIR PARTICIPATION. FURTHERMORE, MOST OF THE RESEARCH ON WOMEN IN FARMING HAS FOCUSED ON COASTAL STATES.OUR PROJECT USES A SERIES OF METHODOLOGICAL TOOLS TO EXPLORE WHAT MIGHT BE THE ROOT CAUSE OF WOMEN'S DISADVANTAGES IN FARMING AND RANCHING AND TO UNDERSTAND IF THESE FINDINGS APPLY TO IDAHO IN PARTICULAR. OUR THREE RESEARCH METHODS ARE DESIGNED TO BUILD UPON EACH OTHER. FIRST, WE USE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USING THE NATIONALLY-REPRESENTATIVE AGRICULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SURVEY (ARMS). NEXT, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND IF THOSE NATIONAL RESULTS SEEM TO FIT THE LIVES OF WOMEN FARMERS AND RANCHERS IN IDAHO, WE WILL ORGANIZE A SERIES OF FOCUS GROUPS. THESE FOCUS GROUPS WILL ALLOW US TO SPEAK WITH WOMEN FARMERS AND RANCHERS TO ADD NUANCE TO OUR FINDINGS, AND SO THAT THE FARMERS CAN COMMENT ON WHAT MAY BE REGIONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEIR EXPERIENCES AND THE RESULTS OF THE ARMS ANALYSIS. FINALLY, USING THE RESULTS OF THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND FOCUS GROUPS, WE WILL DESIGN A WRITTEN SURVEY FOR 650 RANDOMLY-SELECTED WOMEN FARM AND RANCH OPERATORS IN IDAHO. THE DATA COLLECTED IN THESE SURVEYS WILL ENABLE IDAHO-LEVEL ANALYSES (THE ARMS DATA IS NOT SUITABLE FOR SUCH ANALYSES DUE TO THE SMALL SAMPLE SIZE OF IDAHO FARMERS). THE SURVEY WILL ALLOW US TO DELVE DEEPER INTO QUESTIONS THAT EMERGE FROM THE NATIONAL-LEVEL ANALYSES. THE FINAL TWO STEPS OF OUR RESEARCH AGENDA, THE FOCUS GROUPS, AND SURVEY, WILL SPECIFICALLY ASK THE FARMERS AND RANCHERS QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT TOOLS OR RESOURCES WOULD SUPPORT THEIR SUCCESS IN THE FIELD.USING WHAT WE LEARN IN THE RESEARCH PHASE OF THE PROJECT, THE RESEARCHERS WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH UI AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION FACULTY TO DEVELOP A SERIES OF TRAININGS AND EVENTS TO SUPPORT WOMEN FARMERS' AND RANCHERS' SUCCESS. SPECIFICALLY, FARMERS WILL BE TARGETED WITH NEWLY DEVELOPED UI EXTENSION CURRICULA, ONLINE COURSES, TRAIN-THE-TRAINER ACTIVITIES, AND NETWORKING EVENTS. IN ORDER TO HAVE A BROADER IMPACT, UI EXTENSION WILL DISSEMINATE WHAT WE LEARN ABOUT HOW BEST TO SUPPORT THESE FARMERS BY WRITING A BULLETIN FOR AGRICULTURE TECHNICAL SERVICE PROVIDERS. IN ADDITION, UI EXTENSION WILL HOLD EXTENSION OUTREACH SESSIONS TO DISCUSS THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS DURING THE UI EXTENSION ANNUAL CONFERENCE AS WELL AS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCES.UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS THAT LEAD TO INEQUALITY IS A KEY STEP IN ADDRESSING INEQUALITY. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS THAT AFFECT WOMEN FARMERS' AND RANCHERS' SUCCESS AND THEN DESIGN TOOLS TO HELP SUPPORT THEM AS THEY NAVIGATE THESE HURDLES IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE BARRIERS THEY FACE AND INCREASE THEIR OPPORTUNITIES TO ACHIEVING FINANCIAL SUCCESS AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THEIR FARMS AND RANCHES. THE SUCCESS OF THESE FARMERS AND RANCHERS ULTIMATELY MEANS THE INCREASED PROSPERITY OF NOT ONLY WOMEN FARM OPERATORS, BUT ALSO THEIR FAMILIES, THEIR RURAL COMMUNITIES, AND THE STATE OF IDAHO.