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Agriculture’s leading ladies

11.08.05

Editor’s note: This is the first in a four-part series on women in leadership roles in agriculture.

By STEPHANIE JORDAN

For many people, having 24 hours in a day wouldn’t be enough if they had two active daughters, a husband with a farm and a presidentially appointed job.
But for Elizabeth Anderson, 24 seems to be the magic number.
Anderson, 37, is the Maryland executive director for the Farm Service Agency, one of only four women in the position across the nation. Wyoming, Virginia and Massachusetts are the only other states to have a woman serve as the state executive director.
Not only is she one of the only women holding the job, but she also is the first woman to serve in the position for Maryland.
“I don’t think about being the first woman,” Anderson said. “I’m being paid to do a job and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability. The way I approach this job is that the taxpayers are paying me to do this job and I’m committed to it.”
She has a modest background, moving to a poultry farm in Somerset County when she was about 10 years old with her family. She’s the oldest of six children.
Anderson joined 4-H along with her brother and four sisters for two reasons — her mother grew up on an Illinois dairy farm and participated in the club. And when they moved to the Eastern Shore, one of their neighbors happened to be a 4-H leader.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “I really enjoyed it. That’s probably what changed my life.”
Agriculture became a big part of her life, and she moved on to attend Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She graduated in 1990 with a bachelor of science in agricultural education.
She then took a job with Telmark, a company specializing in agriculture and small commercial financing, and was a part of the organization for about 8.5 years.
During that time, she also served on the Maryland FSA committee for two years. After her time on the committee, she was approached to take the state executive director position.
“It really took a lot of thought,” Anderson said. She said she and her husband spoke in-depth about taking the position and the sacrifices that came with it. Ultimately, she accepted the job and has been the executive director since July 2004.
“It’s a presidential appointment and those things don’t come down the pike every day,” she said.
Anderson said she loves her job and does what she can to stay in touch with growers around the state. FSA has its state office in Columbia and has 21 county offices.
She visits each of the offices as often as she can to stay in touch with producers and growers.
“My heart is with the producers because that’s what I know,” Anderson said. “I like to float around. This is where the rubber meets the road. I feel like I’m more effective in my position for doing that.”
She added that going to each county office gives her a chance to meet with the employees and committees, giving her a better idea of what needs to be done. And she said she’s gotten a lot of positive feedback for making herself available.
“It’s about the world that I live in,” Anderson said. “It’s my world. It’s what I know. It’s always nice to work in an area you’re comfortable in and that you know.”
The only downside to her job, she said, is the commute. She lives 140 miles away from work in Princess Anne, Md., — which translates into more than a two-hour commute. She said she sometimes stays close to work during the week to decrease traveling and can typically be found at the Salisbury office on Fridays so she can have more weekend time with her family.
“I couldn’t do (the job) without good child care, the help from my mother-in-law and the intense help and support from my husband,” Anderson said. “He’s really supportive of me in this position.”
Her appointment to the office is over when President George W. Bush’s term end. But she said she is not focusing on that now.
“I’m enjoying it,” Anderson said. “It’s very challenging. It can be very frustrating. It’s an incredible opportunity and experience that I’m making the most of. I’m doing everything I can for the producers and taxpayers of Maryland. When that’s up there’ll be something else for me.”