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There is growing concern among the agriculture community that not enough young people are going into farming.
“The most critical ingredient for maintaining our nation’s independence is our ability to sustain,” said Gordon Stone, vice president of the National Young Farmer Educational Association. “Without the ability to feed ourselves, if that ever becomes something that we depend on other nations for, then our independence is certainly at risk.”
The Department of Agriculture 2007 census, the most recent statistics available, show that the average age of farmers has steadily risen each census cycle, from 50.3 in 1978 to 57.1 in 2007. The majority of farm operators are between 45 and 64, but the fastest growing group of farmers is those 65 years and older.
In the grain-crammed plains of Nebraska, the seventh largest agriculture producer based on income, they have seen dramatic changes in the number of young farmers, according to David Goeller, University of Nebraska deputy director of North Central Risk Management Education Center. In 1982, there were more than 13,000 farm operators under the age of 35. In 2007, that number dropped 74.6 percent to 3,300 farmers under the age of 35.
Why is this happening?
“A lot of young people will give consideration to agriculture but will be discouraged by the high capital requirements upfront,” Stone said. “The regulatory side of farming is also a deterrent. They don’t want to go into an industry that will restrict their options for success.”
Land is the largest expense for beginning farmers. Two thirds of farm real estate has more than doubled in value from 2002 to 2008, according to the American Farm Bureau.
“Land for development is so valuable. Farm land is flat, there isn’t an expense for clearing trees out of it,” said Sabrina Matteson, director of rural affairs at the American Farm Bureau. She explained that developers have been eating away at farm land, especially on the East and West Coasts. “Once farm land is lost to development, it will never go back.”
The high cost of equipment can also be barrier. A new combine that is used to harvest crops, for example, can cost as much as a house. Starting out in the grain business requires the most amount of capital because of equipment costs, so most young grain farmers take over their parents’ farms.
“I don’t know how many lenders are looking to lend out a couple million dollars to someone fresh out of college,” said Will Gilmer of Gilmer Dairy Farm in Sulligent, Ala.
There are programs out there to help new farmers.. Farm Credit is a government sponsored lending enterprise like Frannie and Freddie, said Kenneth Bounds, vice president of government affairs at MidAtlantic Farm Credit.
“But we did not lose our minds in this lending crisis, so we have been exempted from financial reform,” he added.
Farm Credit has locally tailored programs focused on the needs of young, beginning and small farmers and ranchers.
Its extension of credit to young farmers, age 35 or younger, consisted of 153,380 loans totaling $19.5 billion in 2008, up 12.9 percent from 2007.
Farm Credit also is focused on beginner farmers. Its loans to farmers with 10 or fewer years of experience consisted of 216,674 loans totaling $33 billion at the end of 2008, up 12.4 percent from 2007. This represented 17.3 percent of all the money lent to farmers in 2008.
There are also education programs around the country to help train and connect new farmers with seasoned ones.
“We are starting to do a better job of talking with kids, letting people know what the opportunities are,” Gilmer said. “People in ag are very happy to talk about it and help out kids and young adults. It’s beneficial for all of us to have more farmers.”
Gilmer and others in the industry suggested that young farmers get into niche agriculture, such as growing products that could be sold in farmers markets, which can be lucrative.
In 2008, organic farms had average annual sales of $217,675, compared with $134,807 for American farms overall, according to the USDA.
“There are a growing number of small and organic producers,” Goeller said. “That’s definitely an opportunity that is not as restrictive, not as capital intensive.”
But he pointed out that there needs to be a population to support small, organic agriculture. In Nebraska, for instance, there are not that many farmers markets for farmers to sell their products. “In the western part of the state, we have more cows than people,” he added.
The USDA census shows that organic farming production is poised to grow in the next five years, with more than 78 percent of organic farmers indicating that they plan to maintain or increase production levels.
Whatever type of farming in whatever part of the country, many farmers say they love what they do, despite the challenges.
“You won’t make the kind of money on day one that you would if you had a law degree and got hired by a top firm,” Stone said. “But you also wouldn’t have the same lifestyle. Most farmers have flexible schedules, work in an environment that is ever changing and are decision makers on a daily bases.”