WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — What do goats, emus, bees and rabbits have in common? You can find all of them at Mother’s Finest Urban Family Farm in Winston-Salem.

“I got into it by taking a class at my local cooperative extension that pretty much led to me starting a business and using it as a means to home-school my 8-year-old son,” farm owner Samantha Winship said.

What You Need to Know:

• Samantha Winship runs Mother’s Finest Urban Family Farm in Winston-Salem
• Urban farms are smaller and use fewer resources and more sustainable packaging
• Winship is one of many women breaking a glass ceiling
• Women are principal producers for 32.3% of all farms in the state of North Carolina

Urban farms are a little different than traditional farms. Instead of a wide-open range, the idea is that the farm is in a much smaller space, using fewer resources and more sustainable packaging.

Mother’s Finest Family Farm has a wide range of products, from tonic to eggs and vegetables. Some of the more interesting animals on the farm are the emus.

“They are a protected animal currently in the United States,” Winship said. “So, for me, when I got into chicken-keeping, preserving heritage breeds and where they naturally came from, and that history was really important to me.”

Speaking of history, Winship and other women are making it.

The USDA Agricultural Census shows that while the number of farms dropped in the last 30 years, farms where women are a principal producer have steadily gone up, with a huge spike in 2017. That number is now over 15,000 and accounts for 32.3% of all farms.

“We definitely play an important role in farming. We look at underdeveloped countries and women are in the lead of agriculture there,” Winship said. “So, it really makes sense in how food systems are built universally and around the world.”

Working and managing your own farm isn't easy, no matter who you are. But Winship hopes seeing her in action will inspire others.

“I hope by doing and showing up daily can encourage other women that they can do it too,” she said.

Winship is breaking barriers in other ways too.

The census shows that in 2017, there were 1,745 total farms in North Carolina where the principal producer was Black. That's less than 3%.

“I’m in a male-dominated industry. I’m also a Black woman. But I really believe in being yourself and just letting your light shine,” Winship said. “At the end of the day, that’s what really is important and makes change.”

She says it’s been a journey, but the inspiration is everything. It even rubs off on her son.

“What better lesson than learning how to feed yourself and being a steward to the land and your community,” Winship said.

Her farm is about conservation and education, showing people that smaller farms can sustain you.

“The best way to move forward in our future is to have more of these,” Winship said. “Just the will to see a better future for my own child."

A future that she’s helping to build, one seed at a time.

You can find Winship and her family plus other farmers at the Cobblestone Farmers Market every Saturday in Winston-Salem. She also hosts classes and workshops for children and adults alike to help further education in the Triad.