Where is the US's Next Generation of Farmers?
America’s farms are the historical backbone of the social and economic fabric of our nation. Crops grown by farmers support several industries vital to our economy such as food and beverage product creation and the outlets that support them, the production of textiles and apparel, and the development of biofuels.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), agriculture and related industries contributed $835 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2014. That represents 4.8% of the total GDP, with a $136 billion trade surplus in farm goods—all while creating jobs for roughly 22 million people.
As American farmers are getting older, however, the next generation doesn’t seem to be choosing farming as a profession. The average farmer in the U.S. is 58.3 years old and the percentage of farmers under 35 years old is only 6%. So this begs the question, if there is such a high demand for farmers, why aren’t more young Americans choosing farming as a profession?
According to Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit, farmers and ranchers see only 16 cents for every dollar spent on food taken home or eaten out, down from 31 cents in 1980. Farmers also endure uncertainty with numerous natural occurrences that can derail a season. This fact along with the reliance on expensive machines, the need for large plots of land, and the initial entry fee into farming intimidates many potential new farmers.
Moreover, the U.S. population spends roughly 10% of its total income on food, less than any other country in the world. While U.S. consumers benefit from low food costs, it gets harder and harder to make a decent living on the farm.
Farming is facing some enormous issues in the coming years, but if we can address them, they are issues that can be solved. Let’s find a way to help farmers remain valuable contributors to the U.S. economy and society, ease some of the uncertainty, and lure the next generation into a noble and vital profession. Farming technology has made some incredible strides in recent years, but more incentive is needed if the U.S. is to remain a farming power.
