International Women’s Day – Rebecca Archibald

Our fifth highlight for #IWD2023 is Rebecca Archibald!

Rebecca grew up on a farm in a rural community, and never imagined herself in the world of Agriculture past that. Her perspective changed once she started post-secondary school at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (for its geographical and financial advantages), and she met so many great people with so much excitement and passion for Agriculture; she realized what an imperative and extensive industry it really was.

Needless to say, now Rebecca can’t imagine her life in any other industry. She met my husband while she was in university, and they have since purchased her grandparents’ dairy farm, where they milk pure-bred Holsteins with their young daughter, in the community where Rebecca grew up (life is funny sometimes!). Rebecca has worked in crop input ag retail since graduation, and have been involved in many industry boards over the years including NS Young Farmers as the current President. She loves working with farmers, networking with others in the industry, and sharing Ag’s positive stories with consumers.

What’s one message you’d like to share about women in Ag for international women’s day?

“Women play so many critical roles in Agriculture, and since becoming “mom”, I am much more aware of the invisible loads women tend to carry, especially working moms, and even more especially- working farm moms. Much appreciation for all my women peers who are out there doing barn chores, balancing books, running gear, feeding families, working a 9-5, dropping what you’re doing to go pull a calf, wrangling kiddos, sharing your story with consumers, remembering to buy toilet paper, volunteering at the community event, rocking sick babies to sleep, thawing frozen water lines, vacuuming the floors occasionally, and still having the compassion (most of the time) to be a shoulder for your spouse/friend/child to lean on when they need you. Because rest assured… they need you.”