Source: Jesse Frost, CIVIL EATS, 11/20/17


The lack of beginning farmers in the United States is bordering on a crisis. As the latest Farm Census shows, there has been a stark decline in overall farmers—the U.S. is now home to roughly one-third the population of farmers as in the 1930s. The average age of the American farmer is now nearly 60 years old. Although there was a measurable increase in farmers aged 25 to 34 during the 2007 and 2012 Farm Censuses, the number of farmers aged 35 to 44 during the same period dropped, suggesting many young and beginning farmers are struggling to stay on the land.

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