Needed: More Young Farmers

by Natasha Chart · 2009-02-24 09:36:00 UTC
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Farming is an aging profession that young people have been leaving at increasing rates, as well as not entering in the first place as often as they used to. The average age for a US farmer is about 57.

That's one reason why the Center for Rural Affairs includes expanding new farmer recruiting and support in their policy recommendation list for the Obama administration. And we know it can work, because people still volunteer to enter into farming on their own, an intellectually demanding profession if you do it right, even though mentoring is scarce (though effective) and the barriers to entry are high.

Meanwhile, what help there is has already been working in Alabama, as younger people (and 'young' in farming terms, well, that's a high bar to pass under) begin taking advantage of existing support and new market opportunities. Which is good, because we're never going to have a post-food economy and will need to replicate Alabama's successes all over as food resources dwindle.

Natasha Chart
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