They’re here. They’re queer. They’re farming. New generation of LGBTQ farmers more visible and vocal.

Michaela Hoffelmeyer, an assistant professor of public engagement in agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recalled interviewing early-career queer farmers who worried that valuable internships and apprenticeships would place them in hostile work environments or unsafe communities.

Queer farmers may also be forgoing good farmland because they want to avoid harassment, Hoffelmeyer said.