House Ag Committee Looks to Ensure Viability of Young Farmers
With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.
More than half of American farmers will reach retirement age in the next 10 years, but the steep price of entry to start a farm, along with rising input costs and volatile markets, make it tough for young and beginning farmers to take their places.
It’s a issue the House Agriculture Committee is looking into. Last week they held a hearing to review Farm Bill and subsequent state of credit for young, beginning, and underserved producers.
There were a few young farmers on the list including Adam Brown with B&B Farms in Illinois. He explained his struggle despite FSA and Farm Credit loans to buy shares of his late grandparents’ farm. Eventually he turned to the NRCS for more help…
“The unwillingness of NRCS to review my application to CSP because of an administrative paperwork error, remains a singular source of frustration and speaks to the inefficiencies of government that oftentimes prevent new and beginning farmers from gaining access to the programs they need until they have their feet under them.”
He says the next farm bill must ensure that all who qualify for a farm loan can get one, and that operating and ownership loans keep pace with today’s rising cost of farming.
