Week Two: Young Folks in Agriculture

Saydee and Oakli baling hay, June 2021.

When deciding on a topic to research for my farm journal, it was pretty easy for me to narrow it down to focusing on young people in the field of agriculture. I am majoring in agricultural education and have a deep passion for educating youth about farming. As I have been able to spend time in high school classrooms and amongst young adults at various events and conferences relating to agriculture, I can't help but wonder how we can better support those folks to come back to the "farm". We focus so much on getting students to see the many careers in ag outside of actual farming that I think we tend to forget about the farmer. I have heard time and time again that ag is so much more than just farming. While I love the opportunity to showcase the many facets within our industry, it is vital that we look for ways to engage youth in actual farming. I'm talking tractor drivin', pipe movin', crop growin'; good old-fashioned hard work.

I have the unique opportunity of running my own business while attending college. I market and sell small hay bales under the business name, Cleo's Cuttings. One of the ways I engage with customers is through social media. I shared a post last week talking about believing in the next generation of agriculturalists. We were right in the middle of baling our first crop of hay and I had my young friend, Oakli (age 6), come and ride with me in the tractor. I documented this experience and shared it with my followers. I received a very kind compliment from a friend. She showed my Facebook page to her daughter that wants to be a farmer and how it inspired her to see me farming. Her family does not come from production ag, so it will be challenging for her to come into farming.

My dad is a first generation farmer - he actually started farming full-time the year I was born. I have been able to see him work hard to fulfill his dreams, he truly does have dirt in his DNA. He inspires me and all those around him that it is possible to make a living farming.

In 2018, congress introduced the Next Generation in Agriculture Act as apart of the 2018 Farm Bill. This Act's primary purpose is to connect the existing generation of farmers and ranchers to the up and coming generation.

"The Next Generation in Agriculture Act will break down barriers to entry for aspiring farmers and ranchers and help to ensure the ongoing success of existing farm operations by connecting retiring producers with potential successors."

This was encouraging for me to see as someone who would potentially like to return to our family farm after teaching school for a few years. I think if we are able to share this type of information and resources with young people, we could see a serious shift of folks coming into the farming and ranching industry.

As always, thank you for reading.

*tips ball cap from the tractor seat*

Reference:

“Next Generation in Agriculture Act Introduced in Senate.” National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, 21 Aug. 2018, sustainableagriculture.net/our-work/campaigns/fbcampaign/beginning-farmers-and-ranchers/next-generation-in-agriculture-act/.