Source: Sara Wyant, AGRI-PULSE, 3/19/17

(Editor’s note: This is the sixth article in our new Agri-Pulse series: “The seven things you should know before you write the next farm bill.” Each segment provides important background and 'lessons learned’ that can help inform and stimulate debate before formal work starts on writing the next farm bill.)

U.S. farmers are getting grayer, their national numbers are on the decline and fewer young people are moving back to farms and ranches. The average age of a principal operator of a U.S. farm is now over 58 years old. Absent opportunities for manufacturing, recreation or other industries, many of their surrounding small towns are dying off, too. It’s a vicious depopulation cycle in some areas:

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