Farmers in the United States: A Vanishing Population

A hundred years ago, it was common for young people to be involved in farming and agriculture, whether it be through working on their parents' farm or getting a job on another. Now, according to the USDA'S Agricultural Census, the number of adults under the age of 35 working on farms has been reduced from around 1.8 million in 1910 to just 118,000. There is expected to be over 500,000 farmers retiring in the next twenty years, which puts heavy expectation on young aspiring farmers.

It is for this reason that Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, has put out a message asking for 100,000 new farmers to step up to the field. The last Farm Bill of 2008 (the primary food and agricultural policy tool for the government) contains some mostly unknown elements, like several governmental programs aimed towards young and beginner farmers. One such program is the Beginner Farmer and Rancher Development Program, and there are also direct loans available to farmers as a start up to buying and maintaining their own land. These programs would work out very well if the new farmers knew more about them; many say they have never heard of the programs, aren't qualified for them, or were misinformed.

For those who are seeking a Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan, you might be in for a long struggle. The USDA requires that any farmer applying for a loan must have at least three years of experience working in the agricultural as well as the business environment of a farm. Apparently, this secures a “reasonable prospect of success” for the farmer and/or farm. You must also show that you were more than a “laborer” on the farm by providing bills addressed to them, checks you signed for the farm, or a written statement describing their role on the farm in detail by the farmer you worked for.

The FSA process of acquiring a loan is still painfully slow, and not at all desirable with the competitive prices of buying good farm land. The FSA also doesn't offer pre approval, meaning if you find the perfect piece of land but you don't yet have a loan, even if you are in the process of getting a loan, you can't make a bid on that land. Because of the lack of pre approval, these loans are usually only suitable for those buying from patient sellers and slow real estate markets, and neither of those things are very likely to occur.