The average age of the American rancher/farmer has been rising year over year. With the current average age around 65 yrs old, the younger generation needs to be taking over, or there will be no food being grown in the US.
The barriers to entry are too high for someone motivated to jump into this hard line of work. This prevents us younger generations from being able to continue on the food production for the US. There are motivated people (myself being one of them) that would love this kind of work, and to be able to own and run their own ranch/farm, but finding the funding is the issue.
Younger Ranchers/farmers are having to compete with land investors to be able to purchase the ground they need to continue food production, thus pricing us out of the market.
In the near years to come, there will be a mass exodus from ranching/farming as the older generation sells off to land investors, and there is no viable way for the younger producers to take over. So the land investors lease the newly purchased ground to more corporate type farms who are only looking for a return on the dollar, not what is best for the ground and food production in the future.
Keeping the younger generation of ranchers and farmers out of Agriculture production also hampers innovation. While some of the older generation has adapted to certain management practices, it will be the younger generations that will pick up the torch and carry it on. This will drive innovation. Corporate type farms, while claiming to be sustainable, are all about the return on the dollar and not practices that are better suited for the ground they are on.
Solutions:
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The first time farmer program has not kept up with inflation of land/ input costs. The current program is set up to cause bankruptcy. The dollar limits do nothing to help first time ranchers/famers have a sizable enough operation to be able to sustain. This causing a slow bleed to bankruptcy. These limits need increased to be able to knock down the barrier to entry into Ag.
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The financing needs to be easier to get. Most younger generation aspiring ranchers/farmers, are not coming from a family that currently ranchers or farms. They have no equity in a paid off farm from their parents. The reason for the rising average age of farmer or rancher, is the current generation is moving off the farm not wanting to touch farming/ranching.
Us that are trying to get a foot hold in ag and advance the food production of the US hit road block after road block. And if you don’t know someone/related to someone getting out of ag, we miss the opportunity to become what we are called to do.
It takes a special type of person to want to farm and ranch and those that do, are being kept out of the market. -
All ranchers and farms need to be able to competitively market their products and capture more of the margin. The major food processors are posting billions in revenue while producers are filing bankruptcy. This is not sustainable for the country’s food production.
As a country we are on a crash course to no food production, and the American dream of owning land, and having that land supply food to the nation is quickly slipping away.