How to keep the younger generation involved in farming...

[Ernie]

The average age of farmers is on the increase.
See green and blue chart. https://www.terrainag.com/insights/issu ... n-farmers/

I wonder how this compares with Plain Anabaptists. It seems to me there is never enough farms. Does that result in the age being older as well. Or does migration to other areas make up for that.

Interestingly, only a small percentage of FFA members actually farm. https://jae-online.org/index.php/jae/ar ... /1098/1543

Anabaptists have not needed FFA to keep interest in farming. It is discussed at school, at family gatherings, at church, and on Sunday afternoons.

[ken_sylvania]

The average age of farmers is on the increase.
See green and blue chart. https://www.terrainag.com/insights/issu ... n-farmers/

I wonder how this compares with Plain Anabaptists. It seems to me there is never enough farms. Does that result in the age being older as well. Or does migration to other areas make up for that.

Interestingly, only a small percentage of FFA members actually farm. https://jae-online.org/index.php/jae/ar ... /1098/1543

Anabaptists have not needed FFA to keep interest in farming. It is discussed at school, at family gatherings, at church, and on Sunday afternoons.

The Plain Anabaptist folks I know who are part of FFA are all active farmers, although most of them are not as spry as they used to be.

[Neto]

Make more land.

Aside from the cost of a parcel of land large enough to make a go of farming, it can be a rather hard life, especially raising dairy or beef cattle. (Unless you buy calves in the Spring and sell in the Fall, after fattening them up. With dirt farming, there are times that you can get away for a bit.) It also make a big difference on where you're farming, both in respect to the amount of land you need, and in how hard that life is. My cousin is now retired (and he was 2 years old when I was 17, and taking care of him while his mother was in the hospital for the birth of his sister), but he was dirt-farming as much as a couple of square miles of farmland out in western Oklahoma.

My grandpa was what I will call an 'old world farmer'. They had around 30 head milk cows, but typically milking only 8 at any one stretch of time, but all by hand. Around the same number of sheep, and a few dozen layers (hens). About half of the 240 acre farm was in cultivation, winter wheat. They did not 'get rich' doing this, but it was an honorable life, raising 8 children.

[redoyja]

Its pretty easy as a crop farmer to coast along at the age of 70+ and keep farming. Young people will farm if older people give them the opportunity. Many people leave the family farm, because they are in their 20s and dad is only in his 50s and they want to make actual financial decisions and can't because Dad isn't going to let go until he is 70.
Also the way we got to here won't get us to where we want to go. The methods and ways of farming in the 90s and 2000s that built todays farms, won't necessarily be the way farms will get started in the coming decades.

[Ernie]

Make more land.

Aside from the cost of a parcel of land large enough to make a go of farming, it can be a rather hard life, especially raising dairy or beef cattle. (Unless you buy calves in the Spring and sell in the Fall, after fattening them up. With dirt farming, there are times that you can get away for a bit.) It also make a big difference on where you're farming, both in respect to the amount of land you need, and in how hard that life is. My cousin is now retired (and he was 2 years old when I was 17, and taking care of him while his mother was in the hospital for the birth of his sister), but he was dirt-farming as much as a couple of square miles of farmland out in western Oklahoma.

My grandpa was what I will call an 'old world farmer'. They had around 30 head milk cows, but typically milking only 8 at any one stretch of time, but all by hand. Around the same number of sheep, and a few dozen layers (hens). About half of the 240 acre farm was in cultivation, winter wheat. They did not 'get rich' doing this, but it was an honorable life, raising 8 children.

Its pretty easy as a crop farmer to coast along at the age of 70+ and keep farming. Young people will farm if older people give them the opportunity. Many people leave the family farm, because they are in their 20s and dad is only in his 50s and they want to make actual financial decisions and can't because Dad isn't going to let go until he is 70.
Also the way we got to here won't get us to where we want to go. The methods and ways of farming in the 90s and 2000s that built todays farms, won't necessarily be the way farms will get started in the coming decades.

Interesting thoughts.

There are Amish who still try to be "old world farmers" but it is hard to be a dairyman or crop farmer and pay off an expensive piece of land with all manual labor.
If someone is a good manager and willing to grow produce, it is possible.
It is even more possible if they are good at hiring and at managing workers.
I grew up on a produce farm and am not sorry about all the work I had to do growing up, although at the time I was quite envious of the neighbor boys who got to drive nice tractors.

[barnhart]

Anabaptists have not needed FFA to keep interest in farming. It is discussed at school, at family gatherings, at church, and on Sunday afternoons.

It would be interesting to see data on this. I suspect the percentage goes down each year.

[JohnH]

Anabaptists have not needed FFA to keep interest in farming. It is discussed at school, at family gatherings, at church, and on Sunday afternoons.

It would be interesting to see data on this. I suspect the percentage goes down each year.

Amongst the constituencies that have high birthrates (and thus end up being the majority of plain Anabaptists), farming is alive and well and indeed it seems to be what the vast majority of them do. I would expect the percentage to keep going up each year.

As a reminder, groups like Scottsville-type churches or Swartzentrubers average around 10 children per woman. They are basically all that is relevant when talking about the future of where things will be in 50 years.

[mike]

Migration is a big part. Communities that have new generations that want to keep farming basically have to keep moving away from heavily populated areas to places where land is cheaper and less desirable and build up the soils and adapt and do the thing all over again. The Amish have done it for generations and they just have to keep moving out and start new communities.

In the old areas, those who don’t migrate probably have a decreasing number of farmers, while those who migrate probably have a higher percentage.

[redoyja]

Amongst the constituencies that have high birthrates (and thus end up being the majority of plain Anabaptists), farming is alive and well and indeed it seems to be what the vast majority of them do. I would expect the percentage to keep going up each year.

As a reminder, groups like Scottsville-type churches or Swartzentrubers average around 10 children per woman. They are basically all that is relevant when talking about the future of where things will be in 50 years.
[/quote]

Many or most of the plain anabaptists live in the country on a piece of land that is being farmed. That might make them farmers, but everyone is always looking for supplemental income. i wouldn't say its going so well for some communites I know. its really hard for example to raise dairy calves and make a living, if every time you need to move bales of hay around a skidloader and driver must be hired while able bodied men and boys watch. Like Ernie said it is possible though, especially if you focus on specialties or produce.

[mike]

Amongst the constituencies that have high birthrates (and thus end up being the majority of plain Anabaptists), farming is alive and well and indeed it seems to be what the vast majority of them do. I would expect the percentage to keep going up each year.

As a reminder, groups like Scottsville-type churches or Swartzentrubers average around 10 children per woman. They are basically all that is relevant when talking about the future of where things will be in 50 years.

Many or most of the plain anabaptists live in the country on a piece of land that is being farmed. That might make them farmers, but everyone is always looking for supplemental income. i wouldn't say its going so well for some communites I know. its really hard for example to raise dairy calves and make a living, if every time you need to move bales of hay around a skidloader and driver must be hired while able bodied men and boys watch. Like Ernie said it is possible though, especially if you focus on specialties or produce.
[/quote]

Yes. The old order Amish and Mennonite farmers I know are able to make it work by the variety of things they do in addition to dairy farming. Flowers, produce, woodworking and carpentry, tobacco, welding, tool sharpening, repair, chicken layer or broiler houses, and many other home based businesses are needed to make the farm work financially.