The Aging Of American Agriculture

The average American farmer is 60 years old. Only 9% of farmers are less than 35 years old. Many older farmers have no specific farm succession plans. See the problem? If some young people don't get into the industry soon, we're in for some trouble. But generally young people are not interested in farming. They've probably been told it's a waste of their life. They've been told to go to the city and get a college degree. Is farming not one of the most necessary occupations in the world? Have they forgotten that we all must eat to survive? Only 2% of the US population is farmers. They feed the other 98%. Folks, this ain't right.

Young people need to get into agriculture. Our generation is so separated from tradition that it is not easy to see that happening. Elderly farmers cannot farm forever. It's a desperate situation. 

But there are solutions. Farmers need to be educators. Young people could get into the business by being apprentices of seasoned farmers. Programs like 4-H and FFA will help. Many farmers have nobody to pass on their farms to. But if they had a young apprentice, they could pass on the farm to them.  

Education is key. That's how people learn, obviously. And in my opinion, learning from a farmer on the farm is better than any college degree. Some people go to college for farming but jobsite learning is the best way, I think. 

Our culture is so changed from what it used to be. We are so separated from traditional knowledge. We are so reliant on that 2% of the population. Many people don't even know that a chicken has bones anymore. They don't know that potatoes grow underground and not on a bush. I bet you didn't even know that sweet potatoes grow on a tree. (not really)

So I hope you see that this is not just a theoretical problem. And it is not only a problem for farmers. This is a problem for the United States Of America. Everyone will be affected if action is not taken. Something really needs to happen.