ly farming is very common. Farm wives and their children are ex-
tensively involved in farm labor, and thus, contribute significant-
ly to agricultural production.
 This is to the advantage of production. Previous literature has
shown that the value of farm products increases when women are
actively involved in production of farm products. Additionally,
the results of this study suggested that farm women serve as
models for their children; when the mothers work on the farm,
the children work on the farm also.
 An important trend in American agriculture is the ever-
increasing number of employed off-the-farm women. Their in-
come may make the difference between the family remaining on
the farm during tough financial times and having to sell the
farm.


 New skills will be necessary to handle new agricultural
technology. These skills do not require physical strength. Women
and older children, many of whom will have become computer
knowledgeable through their schools, can make important con-
tributions to agricultural production by performing such skills as
using computers for accounting, managing finances, decision
making, programming of farm operations, analyzing market in-
formation, and interpreting this type of information for use in
decision making (Johnson and Wittwer, 1984).
 Integration of these skills performed by women with the work
that requires physical strength performed by men can result in in-
creased efficiency of farm management. Such integration of
women's work with men's work can ultimately result in increased
productivity.


References
 1. Axinn, N.W. 1982 (Nov.). The family and the farm system. In: Families,
Farms and Development (C.B. Flora and N.W. Axinn). College Station, TX: Texas
A & M University, the President's World University Series, No. 4.
 2. Coughenour, C.M., and L. Swanson. 1983. Work statuses and occupations
of men and women in farm families and the structure of farms. Rural. Sociology
48(1):23-43.
 3. Deere, C.D., and M. Leon deLeal. 1981. Peasant production, pro-
letarianization, and the sexual division of labor in the Andes. SIGNS: Journal of
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Institute for Regional Studies.
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farming and the rural community. Rural Sociology 46(2):412-425.


 6. Johnson, G.L., and S.H. Wittwer. 1984 (July). Agricultural technology un-
til 2030: prospects, priorities, and policies. Michigan State University, Agricultural
Experiment Station, Special Report 12.
 7. Sachs, C.E. 1984. The invisible farmers-women in agricultural production.
Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Allanheld.
 8. Scholl, K.K. 1983a. Classification of women as farmers: economic implica-
tions. Family Economics Review 4:8-17.
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1:10-15.
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prospects into the 1990s. Morrilton, AR: Author.


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