Growing the Next Generation

Family farms currently dominate the farming industry, in 2017 they made up 96% of all U.S. farms; however, this number is slowly decreasing. Since 2012 the number of family farms has seen a decrease of 4% and there does not appear to be a stop in this trend. This is problematic for U.S. small farm owning community members because they are being bought out by larger corporations, foreign companies, as well as development and investment groups. This is especially concerning for the wheat industry with wheat being one of the leading farm commodities in terms of cash receipts and the third largest crop in terms of acres and gross farm receipts in the U.S.. Family farms are struggling for a variety of reasons, the majority of which can be linked to economic hardships and failure in succession planning. This is an area of concern that the agriculture industry as a whole, and the wheat industry in particular, should not ignore.

Remaining competitive when going head to head with large farming corporations can be highly difficult for small farmers. With new technology constantly being pushed out it has made farms that are able to afford upgrades, such as precision irrigation and machine sync, more efficient while generating higher yields. Many times small farms cannot invest in these advancements at the pace with which technology is evolving, leading them to fall behind in production and quality which in turn causes their buyers to look elsewhere for products like wheat and other grain commodities. This creates immense financial stress on these farmers and unless they decide to take out a loan there is virtually no way for them to afford to keep up with large scale commercial producers. Additionally, many farmers are already in debt and incurring more would only deepen the hole they currently find themselves in.

Many children who live on small family farms have seen first hand how farming can lead to stress and do not wish to put themselves in that same position. Unfortunately, farmers in the U.S. are aging and will retire at a rate that will outpace the younger population that is willing to fill their shoes; in fact, a study found that the average age of farmers is 57.5 and that less than 9% of all farmers are 35 or younger. This alarming age gap in small farms raises the question of how farms will stay in business when young people are not interested in farming. This lack of succession means that many farms are going out of business and the agriculture foundation on which America was built on is dying. Without succession farms are being bought up and either being developed into real estate or consolidated into larger corporate agribusinesses.

In conclusion, the American farm industry is struggling and with the industry being based upon the principle of owning one’s own land the dream is slowly dying. Land is not a renewable resource that can be produced and once a farmer decides to sell it’s nearly impossible to become a farmer again. Many aging farmers try to hold onto their land for their children, but by the time it reaches them the value of farmland is so high it would seem ludicrous to this younger generation to continue to farm that land on a risk rather than sell it and be set for life. With the amount of wheat being grown in America continuing to decrease, food security in the U.S. will also decrease, making small farms even more crucial in meeting food demands in our country and around the world. Families must communicate and succession planning must be applied to small farms in order to keep them alive because without it the way of life as we know it will cease to exist.

2025 Scholarship Essay: Natasha Lane