In celebration of the International Year of the Woman Farmer, Jessica Brophy of Eckley, attended the Farm Credit Council’s Advancing Women in Agriculture through Resilience & Distinction (AWARD) leadership program in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, August 31 through September 3, 2026 and represented Premier Farm Credit.
For Brophy, the experience offered both personal and professional growth, along with the opportunity to connect with women involved in agriculture across the country.
Nearly 20 years ago, Brophy returned to her family’s farming operation outside of Eckley. Today, she grows corn, wheat and pinto beans on more than 3,000 acres of both dryland and irrigated ground. In addition to managing the operation, she currently serves as president of the Colorado Corn Promotion Council.
One of the highlights of the AWARD program was the opportunity to learn from other women in agriculture and hear about the unique challenges and opportunities they face in their regions.
“I loved hearing other women’s stories about their operations,” Brophy said. “There were specialty crop growers and producers from all over the country, and we all had a chance to share our experiences.”
Those conversations also highlighted how different agriculture can look from one region to another. During a discussion, fellow participants asked questions such as, “Why don’t you just water all of your crops?” and “Why do you describe your operation as part dryland and part irrigated?”
The questions underscored a lack of understanding about water availability and farming conditions in Colorado. For Brophy, it became an opportunity to educate others about the realities faced by producers in the High Plains while learning about agriculture in other parts of the country.
“At the very least, we all left more educated about agriculture in each region,” she said.
The experience also reinforced Brophy’s appreciation for her own agricultural roots. She lives just up the road from her father, Marty, on the same land where her great-grandfather first homesteaded. During our visit, we had the opportunity to catch up with both Jessica and Marty, enjoying the lighthearted banter and easy camaraderie that comes from generations of family farming.
For Brophy, the AWARD program was a reminder that while agriculture looks different across the country, farmers everywhere share a common commitment to their land, their families and the future of the industry.
