America's farmers are getting older.
The latest census data shows their
average age right now is 58. Wow.
That number has been trending
upward for the last three decades.
So begs the question,
who will grow our food
when these farmers are gone?
Reporter Julian Kim takes a look at why
younger generations are leaving farming.
Every morning like Clockwork,
16 year old Ethan Estrada tends to
his family farm.
I have a fear that one day farming and
agriculture on its own will just disappear.
Pride, responsibility and work ethic,
he says. The core values of American
agriculture aren't lost on him.
It stands as a symbol of our country.
It stands as a symbol of our nation.
He's seen way too many family
farms break apart due to
grandkids that leave the industry.
Estrada plans to carry on the legacy of his
it's something that we built up.
And they built up throughout
generations and generations.
And then to see it torn down,
that's not something that I
want to see. There we go.
So Astronema thinks the appeal
of American agriculture
have certainly gone down,
but we talked to other farmers to find out.
The problem goes even deeper.
Here in Palmyra MO.
Farmer Lowell, shot sick,
has been tending to his
family farm since 1966.
What is farming to you? Why do you do it?
Well, sometimes it's because
the only thing you've ever done
shot sick believes one of the
primary reasons why young farmers
leave is high land prices.
The USDA reports farmland
inflation rates increased by
150% between 2004 and 2018.
The land owns the farmers should
the farmer owned the land?
Not to mention the return on
investment is pretty slim,
probably 1 1/2 to 2% or something like that.
On top of that, breaking into the
industry is a hard road to hoe.
Existing farmers have already
monopolized much of the industry,
and families that wanted to pass on
their farms lost them in the 80s
when there was a surplus of farmers.
If it keeps going the way it is
going right now, I think you're
going to see more and more land
owned by fewer and fewer people,
and more lands going to be owned by
people that are not actually. Farming.
To find out what's being done to recruit
younger people to American agriculture,
we spent the day at the Missouri State Fair.
National Youth clubs like 4 age and FFA have
used it as a platform to recruit, cultivate,
and support future leaders in the industry.
We owe so much to American agriculture.
I don't think a lot of people understand that
Aaron Heinicke is a member of the FFA.
It's her goal to pass on the
knowledge, but most importantly
passion to the next generation.
The thing that a lot of people don't
get over is the money situation.
It's gonna take people that really want
to work hard and love what they do.
FFA chapters host community projects
throughout the year and put student
agricultural experiments like these
on display at big state events.
I see it click and their eyes and
they really understand, like, wow,
this is what effect does for people.
It it gives me like, the warm fuzzies.
Appears aspiring farmers will
see first hand what they do and
fall in love with the craft.
And what better way to recruit than that
as a strategy? Ethan Estrada has been
utilizing too throughout his time at 4H.
While younger generations are seemingly
losing interest in rural traditions,
he says getting them involved in
the small things is the first step.
The love for it will undoubtedly come.
Thoughts and minds change just
by coming in and petting a goat,
petting a chicken, you know,
picking him up, picking up eggs.
Each day was it teaches you how to work.
It teaches you, most importantly,
how to enjoy what you already have.
A 2017 survey by the National Young
Farmers Coalition showed the top challenges
facing young farmers were access to land,
student loan debt, labor shortages,
and a lack of affordable health insurance.
It's just expensive to live.
By the way, we are working on
another story about the local farming
industry very similar to this one,
and we want to hear from all of you.
If you or someone you know is worried
about the future of their family farm,
or really just the farming industry
in general right now in the valley
with all the development going on,
please shoot me an e-mail.
My address is.
Right there at the bottom of your screen.
That's M Romero at ktvb.com.