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Mississippi | Thanks, Sam.
I keep reading all these points about "new farmer" programs in the proposed farm bills, but I'm not sure any of the ideas really hit on what the real-world obstacles are for young people who are trying to build operations like you are.
Beyond that, I know of some farmers my age who have actively discouraged their children from farming. Maybe they don't think their kids are suited to it. It could be that a farmer is so beaten down by all he's been through that he'd just as soon his son (or daughter) go a job with fewer headaches and less stress (in theory). Or, maybe the farmer would just as soon retire and use land rentals to supplement any other retirement funds he might have. I am not being critical saying that. It's an individual decision.
Several farmers have told us in the last few years that if they could figure out a way to do something else at this point in their lives, they probably would. It may be that we caught them on a bad day. Lord only knows I think that occasionally, myself. It also could be that we live in an age that seems to present more options, whereas 50 years ago you pretty much started farming early and kept farming all your life.
I hope I'm not depressing anyone by typing in any of that, but when I've started looking at the future of ag in the South (and in America, too), I've wondered who will actually be farming a lot of land a decade or two from now. Are we looking at a European model mentioned in another posting here? | |
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Future of agriculture in the South?
