Growing Career Opportunities for Young People in Agriculture | Article

As Congress gears up for the 2023 Farm Bill, the struggles of younger generations of farmers in particular are getting some much-needed attention. In the United States, farmers as a group are growing older. In 2017, the average age of the American farmer was 57.5, up from 56.3 in 2012. Ensuring that young people have paths to become farmers and stay farmers is important in keeping the profession robust. Young farmers bring unique abilities and perspectives to the field, including a dedication to sustainable farming methods. According to the National Young Farmers Coalition’s (NYFC’s) 2022 National Young Farmer Survey, 86 percent of young farmers practice regenerative farming—growing in harmony with nature—while 97 percent use other sustainable practices.

Unfortunately, a number of systemic barriers hinder young farmers from reaching their full potential. NYFC cites student loan debt and lack of access to capital and land as some of the biggest issues that young farmers face. According to the survey, the inability to access capital and land was the number one reason that young farmers left the field. In order to maintain both farmer numbers and agricultural expertise in the United States, it is imperative to ensure that agriculture is seen as a business where success is attainable.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) serves as the main institution that young farmers can turn to in search of assistance. In addition to its broader programs such as livestock insurance, crop insurance, and support for farm management, the USDA, through its Farm Service Agency (FSA), provides farmers with opportunities to obtain credit and land that they are unlikely to receive elsewhere. These are significant tools in easing the difficulties of becoming established in agriculture, but they currently are not sufficient for many young farmers. Limitations in implementation, technical support, and general resources have created conditions where young farmers require additional support.

As lawmakers consider the 2023 Farm Bill, programs that streamline the loan process, increase access to loans and land, and further alleviate student loan debt should be seen as key additions that can improve the prospect of farming as a profession.

Student Loans: Holding a New Generation Back

Student loan debt is a key issue directly hampering young farmers’ ability to access key resources such as credit and land. With over 78 percent of young farmers holding a postsecondary degree, student loan debt is a major concern for many in this demographic. Though agriculture is not a career that traditionally requires or is perceived to require a university degree, college can often help farmers be better prepared for success in the industry. Farming is a career that requires knowledge in many fields, including pests and yield management, timing of planting and watering, and marketing and sales. For individuals coming from farming families, growing up on a farm and helping one’s parents can provide this information. But according to the NYFC, 78 percent of young farmers are first-generation farmers, meaning that they did not grow up farming. Universities can help fill their knowledge gaps and provide them with that key information. Even 20 years ago, the importance of a degree in helping farmers understand the data-heavy landscape of modern agriculture was being discussed. And with climate change threatening the land, knowledge inherited from one’s parents may no longer be sufficient, making college studies all the more important.

Of the young farmers participating in the NYFC survey, 38 percent stated that their student loan debts inhibit their ability to conduct business, with the average debt amount coming to $35,660. Outstanding debt from student loans can make it more challenging to acquire private loans, which can block access to land. This issue is exacerbated for farmers of color, who are more likely to take on student loans. For example, according to the NYFC, 62 percent of black young farmers have student loan debt, in comparison to 36 percent of white young farmers, and a national average of 38 percent. Furthermore, 45 percent of Black farmers state that their student loans are a significant challenge and 26 percent state that student loans are the biggest reason they have not taken out other loans.

The Need for Credit

With or without the burden of student loans, access to credit and capital is a prevalent issue for farmers. Farming requires high upfront payments, with expenses increasing in recent years. Feeds, seeds, equipment, labor, and rent all make up sizable costs. Without adequate support, it can be difficult to stay in the field long-term. Access to credit is therefore critical. Farmers can obtain loans from private banks and various government and government-affiliated programs, both at the federal and state levels. The Farm Credit System (FCS), for example, is a government-sponsored private enterprise that is required to provide affordable credit, but only to creditworthy customers. Private loans and the FCS make up the vast majority of the agricultural credit market.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency is the main alternative to private credit providers. The FSA’s two primary purposes are to act as a lender of last resort for farmers who cannot find success elsewhere and to provide accessible credit to communities that need further support. A key part of both of these roles is providing loans to young and beginning farmers. Young farmers often turn to the FSA in search of affordable loans, in part due to issues like student loan debt making private loans inaccessible. However, only seven percent of the agricultural loan market receives FSA support.

In July 2022, at a House Agriculture Committee hearing titled “The State of Credit for Young, Beginning, and Underserved Producers,” Julia Asherman, owner of a small farm in Georgia, testified on the issues she faced when she began her practice. Asherman stated that paying back FSA loans did not count towards her credit score, meaning that making on-time payments for an FSA loan does little for farmers striving to qualify for private loans. Furthermore, USDA loan applications tend to have extensive requirements, and farmers have often reported them to be confusing. Many agricultural loans have comparable application requirements irrespective of their size—Asherman notes that in her experience, a microloan was as difficult to receive as a large loan. The time and effort required to apply for a loan can be extensive, which can make smaller loans less appealing to farmers.

The Need for Land

Access to land is also a critical issue for many young farmers. The USDA has programs that assist in land purchases, such as the Conservation Reserve Program Transition Incentive Project, which helps new farmers take over farmland from retiring ones. It also has a database of farmland for sale by the government that prioritizes bids from beginning farmers. These tools, however, do not fully address the land access needs of young farmers. In her testimony, Asherman noted that she was expected to have 150 percent equity on the loan that she used to purchase her farmland, an unrealistic expectation for many farmers that can force them to risk losing personal property as collateral. Such requirements are not viable for young farmers who often do not have enough money to qualify for the loan or own enough property to put up collateral.

For farmers who lack the upfront capital to purchase land, renting is the most viable option. Yet the USDA does not directly provide opportunities for renting or technical assistance in acquiring land to rent. This leaves the burden on farmers to navigate the process of finding land to rent and applying for it—an investment of time that not all farmers can spare. In her testimony, Asherman notes that farmers often cannot afford to explore their options or fill out large amounts of paperwork due to time constraints.

Organizations such as the Vermont Land Trust and American Farmland Trust (AFT) often fill this gap in government support. The Vermont Land Trust, for example, assists Vermont-based farmers who cannot afford land on their own. One of the group’s main strategies is to purchase land, conserve it and rent it to farmers on set-length leases that can transition into purchase opportunities. According to the Vermont Land Trust, this approach is effective because conservation can help secure grant funding to purchase the land, therefore making it more affordable.

The AFT, meanwhile, assists farmers nationwide by providing technical assistance and informational resources. According to Andrew Bahrenburg, the deputy policy director at AFT, the USDA historically has not had programs that fund technical assistance. However, the FSA has authorized $300 million in COVID relief dollars towards the new Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program. “What’s great about that program is that it recognizes the connection between land access challenges and access to capital and markets,” he stated. The program channels funding to organizations to provide farmers with much-needed technical assistance and other resources. Recipients range from nonprofits to cooperatives and Indigenous communities. Through this program, the long-standing trust service providers receiving the FSA funding have often earned from farmers can used to make it easier for them to receive loans. This benefits the FSA, the service providers, and most of all, the farmers.

A major challenge facing this program, however, is that it is not permanently funded. This is also a problem for the Regional Food Business Centers Program (RFBCP), which Bahrenburg highlighted as a second key program through which USDA is helping farmers receive business technical assistance. RFBCP-funded projects are designed to coordinate business technical assistance and supply chains to create stronger regional food systems. Both programs mostly benefit young farmers, and the fact that both are temporarily funded is a significant limiting factor.

Equity for Young Farmers

Beyond the specific needs unique to their generation, many young farmers report feeling that their race or farming practices have made working with the USDA more challenging, according to the NYFC survey. Indigenous and Black young farmers are rejected from USDA programs at disproportionately high rates. Young farmers of color also reported that they were considered ineligible for land tenure (the act of inheriting land from another person) at higher rates than white farmers.

Issues of equity extend beyond race to alternative farming practices, with over 23 percent of young farmers who practice regenerative agriculture reporting that their USDA agent did not approve of their methodology. Considering the widespread interest in regenerative practices among young populations, the USDA could promote equity in farming while also bolstering emission reductions from the agricultural sector by accommodating more regenerative methods, including those that originate from Indigenous knowledge.

The Future of Farming

On April 19, 2023, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) introduced the bipartisan Young Farmers Success Act (H.R.2728), which would offer student loan forgiveness to farmers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The sponsors of the bill noted that it would encourage more young people to become farmers while also allowing them a chance to pursue an advanced degree in the agricultural field. The bill has seen support from organizations such as NYFC, Farm Aid, the International Fresh Produce Association, and the National Milk Producers Federation. These organizations argue that the Young Farmers Success Act would simplify the financial situations of many young farmers nationwide, allowing them to avoid risking poor credit scores and precarious financial situations and facilitating the acquisition of private loans and land.

The Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program’s importance to young farmers has also been recognized by Congress, as a bipartisan group of representatives led by Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) has introduced the Increasing Land Access, Security and Opportunities Act (H.R.3955). The bill would roll the program into more permanent USDA programs and provide $100 million in funding for the next five years. Similar to the Young Farmers Success Act, this bill has also seen support from the NYFC, with additional support from the AFT. Bahrenburg stated that H.R.3955 is “really exciting” since it will “codify the FSA land access program, but also expand it and keep the focus on underserved producers.”

Revised provisions in the 2023 Farm Bill could further assist in helping young farmers. In their Young Farmer Agenda, the NYFC calls for an expansion of funding to the USDA’s new Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coordinator positions. It also calls for expanded outreach so that USDA support programs are better advertised to farmers of all ages. In response to inclusivity concerns, the NYFC recommends implementing training programs for USDA agents to become more familiar with diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice values, including the interests and needs of young farmers.

In order to address the land and credit needs of young farmers, the NYFC suggests pre-approval and pre-qualification for FSA loans to expedite the application process, indexing loan limits to land prices so that they remain sufficient, and simplifying the FSA microloan process so smaller financial packages are easier to access. The organization also requests that the FSA work with USDA Rural Development programs to improve land and credit access and with other departments and agencies to coordinate opportunities for land access. The NYFC also calls for various community-based programs that would keep land in the hands of farmers and families. This includes asking for improved research and data collection into land tenure and farmland ownership transitions. NYFC also wants to see expansions of technical assistance opportunities for farmers looking for land as well as expansions to programs that incentivize farmland transitions to young farmers. These programs would help young farmers find land easier.

Though the challenges facing young farmers can appear daunting, the 2023 Farm Bill presents an opportunity to make the process of entering and succeeding in farming easier and more equitable. Young farmers ultimately represent the future of agriculture, not only due to their age but also because they come into the industry with new ideas and practices that can help lessen the impact of agriculture on the environment and build resilience against climate change.

Author: Parthav Easwar