PART 1: We need more farmers!
Did you know that one of the threats to continued access to fresh local food is the decreasing number of farmers? Out of necessity, folks are holding onto their farms longer and having trouble passing it on to the next generation. Young people and other potential farmers face enormous barriers to enter into the profession given the current agricultural landscape. Put simply: We desperately need more farmers.
In the United States, the average age of a farmer is 57.5 years old according to the 2017 census. An aging farmer population is not limited to the US - it’s a global issue. “In the UK, the average age of a farmer is 59. In Kenya, it is 60. And in Japan, with the highest average age for a farmer, it is 67.” (BBC).
And it’s not just farmers we are losing - farms are disappearing, too. “The nation lost more than 100,000 farms between 2011 and 2018; 12,000 of those between 2017 and 2018 alone” according to a Time article that explores how and why small American farmers are being wiped off the map as we trend toward bigger and fewer farms.
This has enormous implications for our physical health, environmental wellbeing, and the economic viability of communities across the country. According to a MIC article aptly titled Why the US Desperately Needs More Millennial Farmers, “The decline of farming will lead to fewer food choices and an increased risk of a degradation of quality in the food supply system.” That makes perfect sense - less people growing food, and greater concentration of food production in the hands of a few large companies, leads to fewer options and a serious threat to quality and viability for local food systems.
KFH friend Rowan has been volunteering on Sweet Beet Farm with his mom since he was a baby!
That being said, a revitalization of small farms can bring about measurable benefits. Small and particularly organic farms hold enormous potential for working in harmony with nature, building healthy soils, storing carbon, and keeping ecological systems like the carbon and water cycles in balance. “With more modern, entrepreneurial farmers and smaller farms spread out over regions, there is more food diversity as well as a lower risk for big agricultural companies to take over.” (MIC)
Furthermore, small organic farms can contribute to economic flourishing. A 2016 Penn State Study found that a “county’s poverty rate drops by 1.3 percentage points and the median household income increases $2,094 when the county is part of an ‘organic hotspot.’“ That is, more organic farms in and around a county is a powerful economic development tool that helps lift neighbors out of poverty and increases the median household income. That’s pretty remarkable!
We know that smaller farms spread out over regions contribute to food diversity, environmental restoration, and economic prosperity. So the critical question becomes: how do we get more folks to get into farming?
To get more people into farming, we have to identify and address the barriers that prohibit new farmers from getting started. According to an article by Agriculture.com, contributing sources like the National Young Farmers Coalition 20217 survey, and anyone just getting started in the farming world, the top three barriers to entry for new and beginning farmers are:
Access to land;
student loan debt and other financial obstacles; and
a lack of business planning and supportive tools to help a new farming enterprise succeed.
Beyond these top three barriers, there is another, more insidious challenge; to tackle a deep seeded stigma around farming, specifically the widely propagated story of an old white guy in overalls breaking his back in the field from sun up to sun down for little money.
We have to tell a different story about farming, a more accurate story of what farming looks like in the 21st century. Modern farming is an entrepreneurial endeavor filled with possibilities for creative and innovative use of technology, with high potential for economic viability, and enormous benefits for personal and community wellbeing.
Colby-Sawyer College Students help clean potatoes and onions - with smiles!
Telling new stories about farming has been a central goal of the Kearsarge Food Hub (KFH) since its inception in 2015. And with all of this mounting data of how we need more farmers, and how beneficial small organic farms are to communities in so many ways, there is definitely a need to reach young people with these stories as they determine what their life’s work will be.
Kearsarge Food Hub has been working alongside Colby-Sawyer College to introduce farming to college students over the past six years, providing hands-on experiences with local food that can change the way young people view and interact with agriculture.
In an effort to take this educational partnership to the next level, the food hub and the college set out to develop the first ever Farmer Apprenticeship program in the spring of 2021 to actually grow more farmers!
Check out Part 2 of this blog series to take an in depth look at how the Kearsarge Food Hub became equipped to offer a Farmer Apprentice Program in the first place and what it means for our community!
YOU can help us grow more farmers by joining our Grow With Us Monthly giving program! It's quick and easy to right here: https://bit.ly/GivetoKFH Your donation of $5, $15 $25 dollars each month will provide sustainable funding to support this critical work here in New Hampshire.
SOURCES:
US Organic Hotspots and their benefit to local economies, 2016 Penn State Study
Census results are in - we need more farmers!, Youngfarmers.org
Barriers for Beginning Farmers, Agriculture.com