Aging US farmers face search for fresh blood

Experts warn of potential food supply crisis amid concerns over lack of youth

More than half of all farmers in the United States will retire in 10 years or so, and there may not be enough young people recruited into the industry to take over when this happens.

The average age of a farmer in the US is 57, the US Department of Agriculture says, and there are about 3.4 million farm producers altogether, but only 8 percent are under 35.

Agricultural experts say it will be crucial to recruit fresh blood quickly into farming states such as California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Texas, or the country's food supply could face problems. Some organizations and government agencies are trying to offer solutions.

Sid Miller, commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture, is an eighth-generation farmer and rancher, his family having farmed land since the 1700s. He rears beef cattle, American quarter horses, crops and shade trees.

Miller is also passionate about helping young people to get into farming, but there are many barriers, he said.

"Not everybody can step out and buy a $250,000 tractor or section of land."

To help, he has created several agricultural programs including The Younger Farmer Grant for people aged 18 to 45 that gives grants of $5,000 to $20,000 to those wanting to start a business.

"This way they can possibly lease or rent some land. They can get started with a small herd of cattle or sheep or goats or plant a small crop. And once they get started, they usually stay in it.

"We want to make a pathway for them to enter the agriculture field because the average age of the farmer and rancher in Texas is about 60 years old."

Texas has the most farms in the country: about 248,000 as of 2017, the federal Department of Agriculture says. Agricultural land covers about 51 million hectares, more than 70 percent of the state. The industry brings in $25 billion a year for the economy.

The Lone Star state's cattle and calf operation contributed nearly $12.3 billion in sales to the economy in 2017. Its poultry and eggs brought in nearly $3 billion, and its third-biggest sales came from cotton and cottonseed. In North Texas farmers also raise wheat, sorghum and corn.

National assistance

Several other organizations, including the federal Department of Agriculture, the National Young Farmers Coalition, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the Texas Farm Bureau, have created national programs or offer grants to help new farmers. They also want to attract more women and minorities.

While the baby boomers, aged 59 to 77, have been careful stewards of farmland, they now face deciding who gets land ownership.

Miller, who has two sons, said one of them may continue in his footsteps.

"He'll probably carry it on, keep the horses and the cattle going, but he's probably not going to do the tree farm or the crops."

If a farmer's family is unprepared to work the long hours or inherits the land but mismanages it and has to sell it, it can be devastating for them and the rest of the family, said Ted Matthews, 75, a psychologist in Minnesota.

Matthews offers counseling to rural farmers who often suffer stress and mental health woes from the labor-intensive industry, which has a high suicide rate.

"If you're a fourth-, fifth-generation farmer and you lost a farm, you feel like you've let down your ancestors and everyone else in your family," Matthews said. "What they know is that it was always a family farm, and it's no longer a family farm and it was while they were farming."

Amid rising food price inflation, he warned that when farms are no longer family-owned and instead run by a big corporation that does not share the passion that farmers have, food prices can shoot up.

Donn Teske, a farmer for 30 years and president of the Kansas Farmers Union, said: "It would help immensely if the consumer would change their eating habits in regard to fresh and local produce and getting to know your farmer. That offers a lot of opportunity to producers and it cuts out the middleman."

In 1935 the US had 6.8 million farms, but as of last year, there were just 2 million farms left, the Department of Agriculture said.

Some farmers who do not want to sell their land to a developer are turning to a new solution: an online database that connects them with young farmers who want to buy or lease land.

Miller said farmers feel as though their work is part of their DNA. "You live this lifestyle, its freedom, it's independence, it's being self-reliant. It's being close to God and close to nature."