Each year, the average age of the American farmer gets older, with fewer young folks entering the profession.
Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall has some advice for those considering a career in rural America.
“My advice would be to go find a really good mentor, show him how dedicated you are to this industry and to his farm and ranch, and see if you can create a future for you there on a farm that might be available to you someday. And, of course, we all either started with our family or we started small, and people got to start small and build themselves up. And two, you have to make sure that you’re a business person to really make sure that you equip your farm for the bad times, because they’re going to come.”
Numbers out this month show getting a new, younger workforce onto U.S. farms is a big priority.
In their quarterly report, CoBank says that the workforce shortage is set to be a long-term problem for the U.S. economy. They place blame on an aging population and falling birth rates.
The group warns that the U.S. is poised to enter a long period of retiring workers who will outpace new workers, and they say it could be a permanent shift.
The average age of the current farmer is just under 60 years old. Economists say that these challenges will only add to issues facing agriculture, such as rising costs and lower prices.
