I was so happy to read an article on NPR the other day about America’s next generation of farmers. Apparently, over the past several years, there has been a sharp decline in the amount of people choosing to become farmers. According the article, the average age of America’s farmers is 58.3. As farmers have aged, young people have not chosen to follow in their path. There has been a bit of mounting concern that as farmers age and retire, no one would be there to take their place. Luckily, in areas like Maine, there has been an upward trend in the amount of young people choosing to start small scale farms. In Maine alone, “farmers under the age of 35 have increased by 40 percent.” That’s good news for those of us that like to, well, eat. Until now, it appeared the smaller scale farms would be swallowed up by big business agriculture.
The article mentioned that one of the things stopping would-be farmers from getting into the food growing business is the price of land. It take a lot of seed money {pun intended} just to get started, and let’s face it, you don’t go into farming for the money.
Still, I love that being a farmer is making a comeback–even if the numbers are still small. In an age where technology is everything, it’s nice to know that some people are still going back to their roots–literally. Knowing how to grow our own food, and/or having local sources to get it from means we have more control over what and how we grow/eat. Which, I think is a pretty good thing.
I totally think I could be a small scale farmer, if my circumstances were different. I really hope more people start to see the value in it.
~Mavis
Victoria says
Back in college I used to feel sorry for Agriculture majors. I felt bad that their campus building was way out in a field. Surely they must be miserable?! Now, I get it, and I’m kinda jealous as I sit here in a shiny glass building all day, tied to a computer. Hooray for the farmers of tomorrow.
Mavis says
Isn’t it amazing what perspective time can give you! I wonder how different their college experience was because of the major they chose?
Carol Bucklew says
Little Heathens is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I really enjoyed it.
Kayla says
Maybe I am a little out of the “know” here, but I consider all gardeners small-scale farmers. Is being a small-scale farmer mean you have to sell your stuff? Mavis- I consider you a small scale farmer. You are definitely someone I look up to for gardening stuff. Can I be like you when I grow up? 🙂
Mavis says
Awww, shucks! I’m adding small scale farmer to my resume!
Kristina Z says
Land with good water rights goes for $30-$50K/ acre where we are in central CA, so definitely not a young person’s game here, either. I figure at $200K, the young couple from Maine in this story paid about $25,000/acre for their 8 farmable acres (a home typically doesn’t add much value to the assessed value of a piece of farmland -probably be cheaper to buy a farm and rent a house elsewhere). Can’t see how that pencils out, especially with Maine’s very, very short growing season. If you cleared all 35 acres, you still have still about $5600/acre, which is not peanuts. I don’t know how they do it, and they must work pretty hard and live very frugally, and not have much time off. I don’t know how that model sustains itself into middle age, but I’ll look forward to hearing about these young farmers in 20 or 30 years. Good on them for giving it a go — we need more young idealists in the world! (I hope they learn things they can teach us old cranky ones.)
Mavis says
I agree! Young idealists are the best!
sarah says
Little Heathens is so good! Whenever I crack an egg I think of how wasteful I am by not scooping out the tiny bit of egg white left in the egg shell. READ IT!
Lauren says
Joel Salatin has a lot of good ideas for getting around this problem of high land prices. Following his advice, a lot of young aspiring farmers get into the business by either renting land or teaming up with an older farmer whos kids have moved to the city and who can’t handle the work anymore. Then the older farmer gets the satisfaction of seeing their land used, as well as added income and youthful vigor while the younger gets the double whammy of free access to both land and experience. I think believing you have to own the land before you can be a farmer is one of the biggest causes for failure either by killing a dream outright, or by financially draining a new farmer who started out in the red from the cost of the land alone.
Elizabeth says
Homesteaders provide for themselves (friends, faily, etc.) while farmers make some form of living from their work. Technically if you bater/trade the fruits of your labor for something else you are a farmer but the definitions always changing. The big difference seems to have to do with how you can get taxed.