Getting Started In Farming

Getting Started In Farming

Getting Started In Farming. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture.

If you are, or want to be, a beginning farmer, you may in the future benefit from a Farm Bill program that will help groups develop training and educational programs for you. Deputy Secy' Krysta Harden talks about the beginning Farmer/Rancher program.

HARDEN: Which is a $100-million dollar program over the life of the Farm Bill for non-profits and organizations to come together to help develop education tools, resources for beginning farmers, new farmers or any farmer or rancher who has been farming less than 10 years.

Many older and established farmers are also concerned about who will replace them in farming and what will happen to their farms.

HARDEN: As farmers do age and they're looking their own families and their own situations they're really thinking about is the next generation or sometimes it's the skipped generation wanting to come back to the farm or ranch. So I think there's just a new awareness. I think we're talking more openly about it. I think we are creating programs, establishing programs and attitudes that are a little different. We're welcoming the ag schools. We're working with the land grant institutions with extension and other partners in the private sector as well.

Harden talks about a few of the hurdles beginning farmers can face.

HARDEN: If you did not grow up on a farm or have access to land, that's the first hurdle and it's a big one. There's only so much land and it's very difficult, can be very costly. Credit. Availability of funding is also something we try to address at USDA with partners like the Farm Credit system and private industry trying to make sure there is credit available for someone who wants to farm.

That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.

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