Probably you’ve seen the American Farmland Trust bumper sticker with the warning, “No Farms/No Food,” or its corollary, “Yes Farms/Yes Food,” which puts a more positive and constructive spin on the idea.

On this Thanksgiving, as we thank our farmers for putting food on our tables, we would also like to salute government at all levels when it embraces the progressive “Yes Farms/Yes Food” attitude by creating policies and putting money where its mouth is by investing in farms and farmers. In particular, we would like to single out for attention recent initiatives to help young farmers get started.

Why we need young farmers

Around the country, the average age of the American farmer is 58. Today for every farmer under 35 years of age, there are six farmers older than 65. Keeping farmland in production as these older farmers retire is essential not only for our long-term food security, but also for agriculture’s essential contribution to our economy. In New York State (NYS) in 2011, for example, agriculture, including farm production, support services and manufacturing, directly contributed $37.6 billion in output, 115,000 jobs, and $9.8 billion in gross domestic product to the state’s economy.

Why young farmers need help

It is plain to see the importance of growing a new generation of young farmers as older ones retire. And today there is hope to be found in the growing consumer demand for locally produced food, hope that this trend will help fuel interest among young people to pursue farming as an attractive career for the future.

There are, however, many obstacles to be overcome if we are to entice young people to enter farming. Barriers to entry include the high price of purchasing land, the high capital costs for starting up, the difficulty in getting financing without assets, and the high price tag for education that results in significant debt for young college graduates.

What NYS is doing

Enter New York State, which recently established two new programs worth attention.

In October, Gov. Cuomo announced the creation of the New Farmers Grant Fund, launched with $614,000 in the 2014-2015 state budget. Farmers who qualify may receive grants of up to $50,000 annually to cover half the cost of leasing or purchasing farm machinery and equipment; for construction or expansion of farm buildings or systems; and for the purchase of supplies such as root stock, seed or fertilizer. (The funds cannot be used for land purchase or lease; to pay taxes, insurance, or utilities; or to pay off debt. The deadline for submitting grant applications is January 28, 2015.

(See details at esd.ny.gov/BusinessPrograms/NewFarmersGrantFund.html.)

Another new initiative is New York State’s Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program (see The River Reporter’s news article on this in next week’s issue) under which eligible NYS resident college graduates from an approved NYS college or university who agree to operate a farm in the state on a full-time basis for at least five years are eligible to apply. The program, which pays the grant recipient directly (not the education loan holder) is funded in the 2014-2015 budget to the tune of $100,000. While only 10 awards will be made per year, this is nevertheless a step toward helping young farmers get started. The deadline to apply this year is December 15. Contact the state’s Higher Education Services Corporation/Scholarship Unit at 888/697-4372 for information, or fill out the required application information at www.hesc.ny.gov/pay-for-college/financial-aid/types-of-financial-aid/nys-grants-scholarships-awards/new-york-state-young-farmers-loan-forgiveness-incentive-program.html. If it is funded annually, this program will be available for five years.

The results of ag investment

NYS’s far-sighted effort to help young farmers new to agriculture and agriculture-related businesses appears to be paying off. According to the USDA’s Census of Agriculture conducted every five years, the number of farmers under the age of 35 in NYS grew 14.4%between 2007 and 2012, dwarfing the national increase of just 1.1%. Land used for farm operations in NYS rose 12%, increasing to 7,183,579 acres in 2012, while acres of farmland nationwide decreased 0.8% These numbers are not small potatoes. During this same five-year time period (2007 to 2012), the market value of agricultural products in NYS increased $1 billion, up 18%.

On the federal level

The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2013 is also investing in the next generation of American producers to the tune of $444 million over 10 years for beginning farmers, military veterans entering farming, women farmers and socially disadvantaged farmers. The program’s funds support (1) access to land, credit and technical assistance for new producers; (2) assistance to launch and strengthen new farm and value-added businesses; (3) good land stewardship practices for new farmers; and (4) the kind of training, mentoring and research that beginning farmers and ranchers need to be successful. Source: sustainableagriculture.net/our-work/beginning-farmer-bill/

On the local level

At the local level, too, county governments with the vision to support agriculture through progressive policies and funding opportunities are to be saluted. Sullivan County, NY, for example, has just completed its Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan, and among its priorities is a new and young program that includes initiatives like a farmer/farmland match program, along with mentoring and training, agricultural business incubation, coordination with organizations such as the Glynwood Center, apprenticeships and educational efforts via schools such as Sullivan County BOCES and SUNY Sullivan.

What is needed next

Essential to success will be encouraging more young people to take up farming by introducing the idea in our schools. An excellent model already exists in our area, in the agricultural education program at Tri-Valley Central School District in Grahamsville, NY. This year the Association for Career and Technical Education gave its award for national Teacher of the Year to agriculture educator and Future Farmers of America (FFA) advisor Tara Berescik. The school has two greenhouses, an orchard, a 25-plot raised-bed community garden on campus, plus access to several off-campus farms—a bee farm, a goat farm, a pig and a sheep farm. The program’s elective classes include basic animal science and animal anatomy, plant and floral science, environmental sciences including water quality management, forestry and more. The school also has an active FFA organization.

Conclusion

Rural areas like ours that frequently struggle economically have enormous potential to expand our agricultural base to feed both our local region and the millions of people who live in nearby metropolitan areas. Rebuilding a vibrant local agricultural economy will help create so-called “living local economies” (localfirstithaca.org/what-is-a-local-living-economy/) and resilient local communities. With programs like all of these mentioned above raising their chances for success, farmers can become job creators, business innovators.

Farming is hard work, but it offers a lifestyle with many rewards. If you are not familiar with Paul Harvey’s famous 1978 speech “God made a farmer,” we recommend it to you for your reading pleasure. It begins, “And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So God made a farmer….”

On Thursday as you sit down to enjoy a holiday meal, give thanks not only for the food on your table, but also for the farmers who produced it.