More young people going into farming, but it's still few of them

Chicago Tribune

2 days ago

At the Porter County Fair on Thursday, Ron Birky, of Morgan Township, said he retired as a farmer after 46 years. 'I was raised on a farm,' he said, but that's not a guarantee he would become a farmer.
'I was one of five kids, and I was the only one to go into farming,' he said.
'I always enjoyed it. That was really the only thing I wanted to do after high school,' Birky said.
But becoming a farmer isn't easy. The average age of a Hoosier farmer is 56. Out of 94,282 producers in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2022 Census of Agriculture, only 1,962 were under age 25.
Compared to the previous survey, conducted in 2017, there were more younger farmers going into the business, noted Todd Davis, chief economist at the Indiana Farm Bureau.
'I can say part of that is that coming out of the experience of 2020, there might be more people wanting to look at having a change,' he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created long-lasting changes in society.
'I guess you can read into it younger people are seeing opportunities,' Davis said.
'My guess would be a lot of them would be what I call the specialty farmers, smaller scale, maybe taking advantage of farmers markets, selling to local people,' Davis said.
That could include operating an on-farm store and more aggressively marketing products to local customers. 'It's a little more niche,' he said.
Cody Boone, 17, a member of the Pleasant Pioneers 4-H club, raises cattle. 'I want to do something with farming. I'm not exactly sure what part,' he said.
Boone is being raised on a farm, 'a lot of work all the time, especially during birthing season.'
'The farm is more my grandpa's,' he said. Cody's uncle has a farm in LaCrosse, so working for his uncle has possibilities, too. 'I definitely want to do something with them,' he said.
Cody's father, Corey Boone, 42, married into farming. His father-in-law had a dairy farm, then raised feeder calves, then goats. 'I kind of got into helping him do all that,' Boone said, although his full-time job is as a collision repair technician, working on auto bodies.
With a small hobby farm like his, 'you probably put in more than you get out,' Boone said.
Along the way, he has learned a lot about farming.
'One of the first lambs we had, it got out and we chased it for over an hour. We chased that lamb for miles,' he said.
Raising goats has been an adventure, too. 'They will climb on everything. They will eat everything,' including flowers in the garden, Boone said.
Part of specialty crop production, Davis said, is being an entrepreneur and gauging what the market is.
'Some of those operations also get into a little agritourism,' like an apple orchard, Davis said, with a focus on fall tourism. 'Frankly, I think it was kind of a donut stand. That was the most popular part of the farm experience.'
For the traditional corn-and-soybeans farmer, getting into the business has some barriers for a young person.
Land is the first need. That means buying or leasing, renegotiating the terms of the lease every few years.
'If you want to grow your business, you have to keep expanding your land base,' Davis said.
'Commodity agriculture is known for having margins that are constantly shrinking,' he said. 'There's always a push for greater efficiency, cost management, using every input in the most efficient way possible.'
Trying to support a family? You'd want off-farm income not only for the cash but also for the benefits, especially if you're raising children.
Machinery is another big expense. Farmers can find used equipment or lease it, but that will require getting loans. 'Younger farmers may not have much of a credit history, and they may not have a lot of equity to help secure loans,' Davis said.
That's where their parents or grandparents come in. They need a previous generation to help them get started.
And, of course, they need to know how to farm. 'That's a prerequisite for every career, isn't it?'
Where younger farmers might have an advantage over their counterparts nearing the end of their careers, Davis said, is that younger farmers tend to be more interested in pursuing technology and newer, innovative production practices. They're probably more comfortable with electronics, computerization and so forth.
Farm Bureau provides scholarships for ag majors, primarily, to help them get started.
'There are college Farm Bureau chapters at Purdue, Huntington and Vincennes,' getting young farmers into Farm Bureau and the networking side of industry.
'They'll make more than just friends,' Davis said. They'll bounce ideas off each other, too. 'That's something that Farm Bureau helps foster in its younger farmers program.'
Agriculture gets a lot of attention this time of year, what with county and state fairs allowing youngsters to show off the fruits of their labor.
'The county fair experience is really good for the younger generation,' Davis said, along with Future Farmers of America.
4-H, and living on a farm, helped Annie Martin's kids understand where meat really comes from – not just a grocery store but all the steps along the way, from farm to slaughterhouse, before reaching the grocery.
Being in 4-H, 'it's responsibility all the way around. It's time with your family. It's time management,' she said.
Martin also married into the farming business when she said, 'I do,' alongside husband Blake Martin. Their kids understand the rigors of farming. 'They have to be accountable at a really young age,' she said.
Her son is planning to become a farmer. 'He's been able to drive a loader since he was 6,' Martin said. 'He has a work ethic that's pretty incredible.'
He's heading to the state fair after winning the tractor driving competition at the county fair, the proud mom said.
'Farmers never really retire. He slowly learns to operate something new every year,' she said.
Her daughter Brooklyn Martin, 11, a Morgan Sodbuster, said she wants to be a zoologist, not a farmer. 'I just like animals a lot, so I thought that would be fun.'
Soon after Ron Birky graduated from high school, a distant cousin retired and leased his 165 acres to Birky.
'At one time, we had some hogs,' he said, but corn and soybeans were Birky's two staples.
Birky was in 4-H for all 10 years. He's seen his kids go through 4-H, and now his grandchildren are going through it.
The oldest grandchild, now entering fifth grade, thinks he wants to be a farmer. 'We still own 600 acres,' Birky said, but the machinery was all sold at auction two years ago.
If that grandchild goes through with his current career choice, it won't be easy.
'Boy, it's tough,' Birky said, for a young person to become a farmer. 'There's 600 acres that we own, and that's half the battle.'
But it's a fierce battle. 'If you're not raised in a farming family, it's virtually impossible' to go into farming, Birky said.
'The capital investment is unbelievable,' he said, with combines and other machinery exceeding $1 million to buy new.
Then there's the risk involved. This year hasn't had much rain. 'I don't need to go to Vegas,' Birky said, because farming is its own gamble.
Birky retired at 67, his dad at 80 or so. 'He basically didn't retire, I just took over everything,' Birky said.
Young 4-H'ers are considering their options.
Norah Grimmer, 13, of Valparaiso, tended Maverick, her grand champion steer, at the fair on Thursday. She's planning to study animal science at the University of Notre Dame to become a veterinarian.
Elizabeth White, 16, a member of the Center Wildcats, plans to attend Valparaiso University. 'I'm trying to decide between mechanical and electrical engineering,' she said. After that comes law school.
'We have a small hobby farm,' White said, raising poultry and rabbits along with a few sheep not exhibited at the fair.
'4-H has really, really raised my confidence,' she said. 'I know a lot of veterinarians, and they have to deal with a lot of attitudes.'
Alexis Leek, 18, of Morgan Township, is a member of the Hustling Hoosiers club. 'I was thinking about working with horses,' she said, in the criminal justice field.
That involves riding horses in parades and other events, not putting the handcuffs on felonious equines.
4-H 'definitely helped me with people skills and talking with people I don't know,' she said.
Heather Cox, of Morgan Township, aged out of 4-H but was master showman last year, she said while visiting the horses – and people – in the horse barn. She's at Purdue University, where she's thinking of studying animal behavior. Like Leek, Cox said 4-H has polished her people skills. Now she's passing the torch to others.
Shiloh Otey, 15, a member of the Hustling Hoosiers, is exhibiting horses, rabbits and poultry, and helping her sister with goats. 'I want to be a veterinarian,' she said. 'I like working with bigger animals.'
Leek and Cox said although their career paths don't include farming, they wouldn't rule out raising animals on a small farm when they're older.