Encouraging the Next Generation of Farmers

Abstract

First paragraphs:Last summer, I was viewing one of the early morning agriculture news TV programs. One of the commentators stated that he is routinely asked for advice he has for young farmers. His advice: find a specialized market, such as organic, and sell direct-to-consumer. Interesting advice on a program intended for large commodity farms.The book Letters to a Young Farmer: On Food, Farming, and Our Future presumes that its intended audience has already made the decision to sell direct-to-consumer. Many beginning farmers have. We’ve all seen the increase in small farms in the U.S. over the past several years. Now it’s official. As reported in The Washington Post, the most recent Census of Agriculture found an increase in the number of farmers under 35 years old (Dewey, 2017). Many of these young farmers are new to farming, did not grow up on a farm, and are work­ing small, diversified farms using organic methods....