A New Generation of Farmers: Dynamics of Change

Abstract

Moving Forward with Purpose

When faced with a problem that doesn’t seem like it’ll be solved in this lifetime, the next generation of people is often seen as cause for hope and perhaps the impetus for meaningful change. The younger generation of farmers is no exception to this tendency. “There's a lot of young producers that are out there … adopting a lot of conservation change,” one farmer said, but when asked about the future of farming admitted that he “kind of feels bad for producers, for somebody that's on the outside but wants to get into agriculture.” In the agricultural sector, continued consolidation, economic uncertainty, climate issues, and insufficient government support have made the idea of breaking out of this system and pursuing ecologically-sound practices impractical or sometimes even unwanted for many current farmers. After speaking with stretched-thin government officials, farmers, and financers in Dunn County, one common idea remained: Even if today’s farmers don’t have the resources to change, tomorrows will Such faith often projects unrealistic standards on young people, who will continue to be influenced by the same social and economic systems that keep current farmers from adopting conservation practices. However, if we move forward deliberately with some ideas for support in mind, perhaps changing times can be the key to expanded conservation practices in farming.

Farming, along with rural life in general, relies heavily on enforcing existing social norms. In a small community where everyone knows each other, there are social consequences for every action. This could look positive, like making sure your dairy isn’t polluting into your friend’s stream, but it could also look like not wanting to try new experimental practices because you know your neighbors will talk. Farmers need to be encouraged to experiment and find what works for their unique land and financial situation. New farmers will need to be resilient, adaptable, and focused. Young farmers need to commit to doing things differently than their fathers did, and perspectives are needed outside of these multigenerational farms as well. With the added social dimension, an unnecessary barrier is placed on young farmers to perform in certain ways. A lot of what stops farmers from trying new things is fear or peer pressure. Social norms on their own are not negative, but times are changing, and attitudes need to change as well.

The burden to change is not solely on farmers, either. Non-farmers, rural and urban, need to ensure that farmers can count on their sustainable practices being promoted, not punished. With uncertainty and competitiveness in global markets, this means committing to buying and supporting local foods as much as financially possible. Look at where your food is coming from, and the environmental strain placed on our land and water to get it there. Additionally, the support of local lending institutions needs to increase. Farmers shouldn’t be forced to get bigger just to take out a necessary loan on things like newer equipment. Both of these community supports have the potential to make conservation agriculture not only financially feasible, but maybe even a more profitable option than traditional practices.

We can choose to resist inevitable change, or work with it. Extreme weather, drought, heavy rains, and rising temperatures have become more frequent, and these trends will only escalate in the coming decades. Risk, so far, has made farmers hesitant to try new practices, but risk also opens an avenue for unprecedented change. There is simply no way to continue farming the way things were farmed in the past. Luckily, many conservation practices have already been happening, and it is a matter of making the profitability and viability of these practices known. This could look like showing up to demo farms, attending community events on conservation, and increasing the availability of communal knowledge and equipment. An uncertain future means coming up with new ways to handle risk management, an increasing importance of insurance (both monetarily and in terms of a general safety net of peer support) and staying on top of new practices.

In my father’s lifetime, my grandfather went from a family operation with sugar beets, hogs, and sweet corn, to a soybean and corn rotation and no hogs. In a single generation, the family farm went from viable to inviable. If change can happen that fast in one direction, it can happen in the other. Whether or not the infrastructure exists, a new generation of farmers will come. There are specific, actionable, things that individuals can do to facilitate change. From a knowledge standpoint, this could look like more public information sessions, access to farmers’ networks for outsiders interested in pursuing agriculture, and debt assistance programs to offset the burden of entry for recent graduates. From a financial standpoint, this could look like ways for farmers to access affordable healthcare, and loan programs specifically for young and first-generation farmers to cover the rising costs of land and equipment. If we can create networks of support for young farmers and learn from the ways that current farmers are struggling, we can move into the future with purpose and more importantly, hope.