Farming is a physically demanding job, no matter your body type. Women, however, are at a particular disadvantage when it comes to farming equipment.

“These were designed for people of a certain weight and certain height... pretty much reflective of the male population in the United States,” says Josie Rudolphi, who researches agricultural safety and health at the University of Illinois.

The problem, she says, is that everything is designed with a tall, heavy and strong male body in mind. Therefore, some equipment is simply too heavy for the average woman. Some women have trouble reaching the brake on a tractor. Hand tool grips are often too large for the average woman’s hand.

She says this can result in less productivity on the farm.

“Women are very, very capable of running these pieces of equipment. Sometimes getting them started or… reaching the brake and the clutch at the same time creates a challenge just based on the size and nature of some women,” Rudolphi says.

Farming is already a dangerous job, Rudolphi says, and for women, the potential for injury is high.

“We see a lot of musculoskeletal conditions, so that low back pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain and knee pain, and that a lot of times emerges from repetitive movement, awkward posture and performing work without the appropriate tools,” says Rudolphi. “Certainly using a tool that's not designed for you… is certainly an example of not having the right tool for the job.”

Liz Brensinger and Ann Adams had had enough of their heavy, hard-to-use farming equipment. With backgrounds in public health, the pair set out to find tools that were ergonomically designed with their bodies in mind.

“There were companies that painted crappy tools pink and called them ladies tools,” Brensinger says. “But we couldn't find a single case of tools or equipment in the ag sector that had been scientifically designed to work well for women.”

Brensinger and Adams wanted to change that. They co-founded Green Heron Tools, a company that focuses on researching and designing tools and machinery designed for women.

“[We use] a scientific design process to match the tool, not just to anthropometrics, kind of the size and shape and function of women's bodies, but also how women tend to work, which is different from how men tend to work,” Brensinger says.

Read the full article about farm tools designed for men by Dana Cronin at Harvest Public Media.