Farmers and Ranchers use the pneumatic post driver

In 1900, 38% of the United States’ workers were employed in agriculture. Today, there are less than 2%. In fact, the headcount has dipped so low that people who grow food for a living are now outnumbered by federal prison inmates. According to Bloomberg Business, the US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan says that the country’s farmers and ranchers are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place. With such a severe lack of young farmers and ranchers, what will happen to our country’s agriculture?

The Issue

Nationally, the latest agricultural census figures show the fastest growing group of farmers and ranchers are those over age 65. In Oregon, it’s anticipated that up to half of the state’s farmers and ranchers will retire in the next decade. A recent blog posting put agriculture at No. 1 on a list of "useless" college degrees, and top federal agriculture officials have taken note. Furthermore, only 16 cents for every dollar spent on food goes back to the farmers who work tirelessly to bring it to your dinner table. Lastly, getting into farming is far from easy. For the candidates who wish to farm on their own account, land prices pose a challenge.

Why farmers are more important than ever

• Our growing world population has some experts predicting that we will require 70 percent more food production by 2050.
• Interest is building in greater self-sufficiency. As a result, we need more efficient, more highly skilled farmers.
• Successive governments would like to see a farming industry able to stand on its own feet – free from the support provided by government funds.
• We have a food system in which a startling majority of people don’t know where their food comes from and in which the average fifth grader can identify more corporate logos than local plants.

What should we do?

According to a NY Times article, in order to reverse this course, our country must take bold action to ensure that aspiring farmers have access to land, health care, capital, education, and training.

What do YOU think of this issue? Let us know in the comments!