9-9 FB Young Farmers

 Not to say I told you so, but I told you so. We should all have great faith in the agricultural life. Now there is a reversing trend. I’ll talk about about that in just a minute.

 We have talked for years about the graying of the American farmer. Who is going to take up the slack? Well, good news. The commodity boom of recent years is creating opportunities for young people to return to the farm and ranch. Dr. David Kohl – A Professor Emeritus of Ag Economics speaks to agricultural groups all over the U.S. “I probably do 75 to 100 programs a year. The past few years I have seen more people under 40 years of age, you want to know what the 2^nd trend I’m seeing, women.” And Kohl says it's not just about making money. “These young people are saying hey, we have a higher calling, we are providing food, fuel and fiber for the rest of the world out there, but you know the other thing they say, farming allows them to grow their best crop. You know who the best crop is sometimes? Their children. Teaching them the values, the discipline. The rural community is very critical. I often tell people, whenever you hire someone you directly or indirectly hire their spouse or significant other and if the rural community doesn’t have the life style attributes, they are not going to come back to it.