By Todd C. Elliott
Women have long played a vital, but often underrecognized, role in Louisiana’s farming industry. Traditionally, many worked alongside family members on multi-generational farms, tending gardens, raising livestock, preserving food and managing the household — all while contributing significantly to the agricultural output.
In rural communities from the delta to the piney woods, their work has helped sustain both the economy and cultural traditions of farming life, especially in areas rooted in Creole, Cajun, and African American heritage.
In recent decades, however, women have moved beyond behind-the-scenes roles to become farm owners, operators and agribusiness leaders. Whether managing crawfish ponds, running sugarcane operations or leading sustainable agriculture projects, Louisiana women are increasingly visible in every corner of the industry — they’re reshaping what leadership looks like in Louisiana agriculture.
South of Sulphur, where the Choupique Bayou touches the rich gumbo soil of the SWLA marsh prairie lies Almosta Ranch, a 40-acre farm and a land rooted in the strength of women. Enter Jill Bolen, 56, who comes from a long line of farmers. She knows what it takes to raise livestock and work the day-to-day life on a farm. She and her husband, Bill, make up the team of “Jill and Bill,” owners and proprietors of the ranch.
“We’ve been doing this since 2018. It started as a hobby farm, and then we ended up building it into a business,” she said. “All of my family are all big farmers, crop farmers in Southwest Kansas. I grew up in Louisiana. My dad and I moved down here, and he had horses the whole time I was growing up. My dad did a little bit of rice farming, but mostly it was just horses. I was a 4-H kid, and we raised pigs and all that good stuff.”
Jill knows that she is a diamond in the rough when it comes to the Southwest Louisiana farm industry. Women in agriculture are a rarity, she agreed, yet she remains undeterred in her belief that her uniqueness is a strength.
“You don’t see a whole lot of women in farming or agriculture, and that’s one of the things that I love about Almosta Ranch,” said Jill. “Out of our 12 employees, only four are boys. The women here are awesome; they do their jobs and can do just about anything the boys can do.”
There’s a subtle humor to the name of Almosta Ranch, which is a farm. The Almosta Ranch moniker is a playful, light-hearted approach to the hard work of farming. Jill, like many, seems to believe that a labor of love shouldn’t be serious work as much as it is serious play. Rather than having a job on a farm, she has found a career in fulfilling the needs of the community while working on her land. She laughed at the notion of an oft-told joke that if a man and a woman own a business together, that she is the real owner of the company.
“My husband handles the maintenance; I’ve kind of moved into the admin side of things and the day-to-day farm life,” she said. “I’m of the mindset that women can pretty much do anything that men can do. I mean, we don’t have the (same) physical strength, but with the equipment these days, we can pretty much match the men on the farm.”
Turning the farm into a business was a creative endeavor. Jill started camp programs for children in Southwest Louisiana. She believes that she is making an impact on young girls, who volunteer and work at Almosta Ranch. Like planting seeds in the fertile minds of the youth, the future harvest will be a high yield for the next generation of women in agriculture and beyond.
Jill’s Almosta Ranch is open to both boys and girls who want to experience the petting zoo and even a water-park-like and beach area in a man-made pond on the farm. She said that Almosta Ranch even offers a camp for autistic children and that her farm is very “autistic-friendly,” as one of her Almosta Ranch hands is on the spectrum.
Jill’s journey of hobby farming to owning an agri-business model is rooted in her connection to the family and the area of Carlyss.
“We originally bought this property to be hobby farmers; my husband was retiring, and I think we just wanted a cool place for our grandkids to come visit,” said Jill. “And I wanted to grow my own food, so that’s how it started. And then when we did a birthday party for our grandbaby out here, it was a petting zoo party. And people just loved it.”
Jill began selling fresh eggs and starter plants on the road at the edge of their driveway. At the urging of others, the Bolens created a special place for kids to enjoy, and their business seems to be booming, with 12 of the 40 acres dedicated to a wooded horseback-riding trail to the Choupique Bayou.
“We’ve been very community-driven,” said Jill. “When the community tells us that they would like something provided for their kids or families, then we kind of go with that. So many times, are there kids that can’t come and do this kind of stuff. Nothing makes me happier than when a kid just shows up out here to just ride horses and have fun; that is just amazing.”
It’s well known that if any kid wants to learn to ride horses, they need to saddle up with Michelle Trahan, 35, of Cameron, who is the equestrian trainer and farrier of Almosta Ranch. Trahan can shoe and train horses like nobody’s business; she’s worked around horses her whole life.
“Growing up in Cameron, there’s really not much else to do other than shrimp and ride horses,” said Michelle. “We had family friends that had horses, and we would ride a lot. We grew up doing hard work. Then, I met Bill and Jill, and they’re amazing people. They have become family to us.”
Being a woman in the agri-business industry, Michelle said that she has seen her share of struggles that women face. Not just in the farm work, but in the workplace in general. She said that she traded her management job in the air-conditioned office life of the 9-to-5 world to start a new life at Almosta Ranch, where she can commune with nature in the open air.
“I feel like women get looked down upon; that it’s assumed we don’t work as hard as men,” Michelle said. “And honestly, I feel like we exceed men most of the time. We’re extremely passionate about what we do, not only with the animals here at Almosta Ranch, but with the kids. It’s so nice to come out here and do what you love. To teach kids and see the enlightenment and their love for animals on their faces. It’s really rewarding.”
As if Michelle had reached a goal or achieved a dream for herself, she recalled what it was like being a young girl growing up in a man’s world. She has hopes for the young girls, who make their way out to Almosta Ranch.
“I would like for them to not feel like they have to wear the world on their shoulders,” said Michelle. “Here, they’re able to be themselves. They’re able to enjoy themselves. They’re not pushed into the factors of the way the world works these days. It’s nice to just see them be kids.”
Michelle has a message for those who might feel out of their element in the business world or just the world in general. Perhaps it is a conclusion that one comes to after long, hard yet rewarding days of being in the elements of Mother Nature.
“Love what you do,” she said. “Most people go after the money, but I feel like if you go after what you love, then it’s not a job or a career. It’s a lifestyle.”
This is more than a tale of two women who work on a farm in Carlyss. While many company employees may use the term “out in the field” to describe when they are not in the office, there are ladies down on the farm that are literally “out in the field” nearly every day across the great state of Louisiana. With boots on the ground, grit in their hearts, and grace in every challenge faced, they shape the cultural and economic landscape. Their story speaks to tradition, tenacity, and transformation, which should remind us that the future of farming in Louisiana is not just strong, it’s female.
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