Young and Old Farmers on the Rise

With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.

It’s a statement we hear a lot in the agricultural world: “We’re not getting any younger.” For the American farmer, it’s true…kind of. It is true that the average age of a farmer or rancher here in the U.S. of A is getting older according the latest Census of Agriculture. The average age of all U.S. farm producers in 2022 was 58.1 years, up 0.6 years from 2017, continuing a long-term trend of aging in the U.S. producer population. But we are actually seeing an uptick in the number of young producers in the industry.

Let’s look at the breakdown. While the number of producers between the ages of 35-64 declined 9%, the number of producers 65 and over increased 12%. The number of young producers, those under 35, also increased slightly, up by 3.9%. The number of beginning farmers - those who have farmed for 10 or fewer years - increased as well, with over 1 million beginning producers counted in the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It’s conducted every five years.