Rise Up, Young Farmers!

Think about your industry for a moment. Whether you're a plumber, a banker or a nonprofiteer, chances are there are people in your field of all ages. The younger ones climb up the ladder and replace the older ones, who retire and watch as the ones they trained take over the helm. If the average age of people in your field were almost 60, would that be a problem for the future success of the industry?

I would venture to think the answer is yes.

And as with any other industry, so with farming. Or maybe, in the case of age discrepancies, especially with farming. Considering that agriculture is indispensable for our survival, that farming is a taxing job that requires a working population with a good amount of energy, and that we need careful planning when farmers retire to keep land resources within the agricultural sector, the age of U.S. farmers should concern us greatly.

Farmers as a group are getting way too old. We need tens of thousands of new young farmers or else we're going to be in big trouble soon. Luckily, a movement of young people taking up the rake and the hoe is growing, and even getting organized.

We'll need the young people now flooding back to the land to balance the grim picture painted by the Census of Agriculture (PDF). The average age of "farm operators" rose two full years, to 57.1, between 2002 and 2007. Also in that time frame, the number of farmers over 75 increased by a fifth, while the number under 25 decreased by almost a third.

Thank goodness for people like Lindy Abrams, 25, owner of Holla Holler Farm in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. She told me that she left a fledgling career in arts administration to farm her family's land so she could learn a skill "that will actually help me survive."

Looking every bit the hip city kid in bug-eyed sunglasses and jeans fastened with a handmade belt buckle emblazoned with the word "HOLLA," she pointed out how it gets more difficult to make the transition to farming the older — and more encumbered with familial and other responsibilities — one gets.

"From what I've seen, you've got to get an early start because by the time you get it all figured out, you really need some steady income," she said. "Right now I can adjust and live cheaply."

I encouraged Lindy to look up The Greenhorns, the exciting new organization started by a young farmer in New York with the remarkable name of Severine von Tscharner Fleming. In an interview with Grist, Fleming described the role she sees young farmers playing in the future of our food system: "Dominated as our food system has become by the mega-consolidation of poultry, beef, dairy and hogs, the government has got to crack the monopoly. Our role is to replace that monopoly with a mosaic of small and medium-sized farms and food businesses."

The Greenhorns is making a documentary film about America's young farmers among other actions intended "to embolden them, to entice them and to recruit them into farming." The Greenhorn blog, the irresistible fleet of bicycles, keeps young farmers updated on the latest, the "serve your country food" interactive map pinpoints the growing community of young farmers, and the resources page offers The Greenhorns Guide for Beginning Farmers.

Not content to stop there, though, the masterminds behind The Greenhorns teamed up with other interested parties to plot and plan for the launch of a National Young Farmers' Coalition, which will help young farmers succeed through practical support, networking opportunities and work toward policy reform. "By young farmers, for young farmers — with pitchforks, patriotism and a sense of urgency," trumpets the landing page.

Photo: bizior via stock.xchng