Older farmers getting help

Older farmers getting help

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
The average age of the American farmer is over 58 years old and a third of all U.S. farmers are over 65. There are many seniors trying to keep their farms going. Some even tried to start farms, people like Mary Jane Cathers who started up an alpaca farm in 2014. She says… “it's not unusual for people in their 70s like myself to get into the business because they're a relatively easy animal to take care of.”

But she says not without some help. Shoveling manure, feeding the animals and it’s older farmers like Mary Jane, who are giving a new shot in the arm to an old industry,… the hired farm hand.

“Yeah, a lot of these are older farmers. They need help and then they can afford to pay much. You just go and help them.”

That's Keith Grove. He and his wife, Dawn, help out here at Mary Jane's farm.

“We work here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Tuesdays, Thursdays in Saturdays, we work for the other farmers. Different crop, different livestock and everything. I can basically run most of the equipment on the farm.

And Dawn’s specialty… taking care of livestock. “I clean up and then feed them.” The Groves work for pay, but in one case also for other considerations. “The place we're living at now. We pay so much rent and pay so much time working on the farm. So it kinds of cuts it down. I see sort of a barter arrangement then. Yeah, yeah. The barter system. So the Groves have a career going, helping out the growing number of older farmers who are trying to keep their farms going.

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