WATFORD CITY, N.D. – Country women not only raise their families to have a deep love for the land and an appreciation for family, but some also answer the call to be the voice for agriculture and ag producers.

Country woman Vawnita Best, one of seven finalists for Farm & Ranch Guide’s Country Woman of the Year 2013, has been standing up for agriculture and the needs of producers who farm and ranch in the midst of the biggest oil boom the U.S. has experienced in decades – known as the Bakken.

ST. ANTHONY, N.D. – Just how does Kim Barnhardt do it all? And while wearing that cape.

Well, cape aside, but some days Barnhardt could be viewed as a super hero, judging by the monumental tasks she performs.

MARION, N.D. – Joy Enger, a dedicated farm wife and community supporter from the Marion area in southeast North Dakota is one of the Country Woman of the Year finalists.

She was nominated by Becky Knudsen, a life-long friend and neighbor. Joy and her husband Randy have been farming and ranching for 40 years.

MORRISTOWN, S.D. – When Tera Meyer graduated from Carrington (N.D.) High School, her future plans didn’t necessarily say, “marry a great guy and become a ranch co-owner/operator,” but that’s where her path led.

Tera is hard working, energetic and intelligent and has excelled in her career choice.

STANLEY, N.D. – Like many country women, Marlene Grabow is humble about the importance of her role in her family’s farm and ranch operation.

She was very surprised to learn that her daughters, Lindsay, 29, and Shelby, 23, secretly nominated her for the 2013 Farm & Ranch Guide Country Woman of the Year.

SHERWOOD, N.D. – As Wendy Solemsaas was heading off to college, she was certain agriculture was no longer in her future, but times change and she is now one of the finalists for Farm & Ranch Guide’s Country Woman of the Year honor.

She had grown up on a farm near Grandin, N.D., where her family had a farrow to finish purebred swine operation and raised small grains and sugarbeets on the farm. While growing up, Wendy was very involved in the farming operation and realized she was missing some of the fun things her classmates were doing. She swore she would never marry farmer as she headed off to North Dakota State University for her college years.

BOWMAN, N.D. - In high school, like any other senior, Susan Olsen recorded her future plans in her yearbook. More than anything else, Susan wrote she wanted to marry a farmer.

That not only came true for this country woman, but she ended up becoming a full-time farmer/rancher herself – as well as a dedicated farm wife, mother, grandmother and beloved neighbor and friend.

The 20th annual Farm & Ranch Guide Country Woman of the Year luncheon program, which will be held on Friday, July 12, at the The Seven Seas Hotel & Waterpark in Mandan, N.D., promises to be a very special event.

For one, it is the publication’s 20th annual program that honors the important role women play in the agriculture industry, meaning there will be a new member joining the “sorority” of winners past.

Doreen Rosevold was the featured speaker at the very first Country Woman of the Year program back in 1994 and she will be again for the 20th annual event which will take place beginning at noon on Friday, July 12, at the Seven Seas Hotel & Waterpark in Mandan, N.D.

Rosevold has been a columnist for Farm & Ranch Guide for over 30 years, chronicling her trials and tribulations as well as her humorous anecdotes in her column, “Farmwife Diary.”