Older Farmers, Fewer Farms: A Growing U.S. Challenge

When 77-year-old John Hunter, patriarch of the centuries-old Hunter’s Farm and Market in New Jersey, died in early August from a mechanical accident, more than 1,300 people left comments on Facebook honoring his life and his legacy. For many locals, his farm was more than a business — it was where they bought summer produce, learned the value of hard work, and felt part of a rural community.

But Hunter’s passing is also part of a broader, troubling trend. Nearly 40% of all farmland in the United States is now owned by farmers over the age of 65, and the average age of a U.S. farmer is 58, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Industry leaders are questioning what will happen when these farmers retire — and whether the nation’s food supply could be affected.

More than 95% of U.S. farms are family-owned, yet the total number of farms continues to fall. USDA census data shows that in 2022 there were almost 2 million farms and ranches, down 6.9% from 2017. Without younger farmers stepping in, experts fear the decline could accelerate.

“Not every family has that next generation or has a son or daughter or grandson or whatever to take over,” said Bill Hlubik, an agricultural professor at Rutgers University who runs the school’s farmer training program. “It is a huge challenge and we're going to have to deal with it.”

A Problem Decades in the Making

The roots of today’s demographic crisis go back to the 1980s farm crisis, when falling land values, high interest rates, and overproduction pushed many families out of farming. Aaron Locker, managing director of agricultural recruitment firm Kincannon and Reed, told Congress in June that the crisis discouraged many young people from pursuing agricultural careers.

Enrollment in agricultural college programs fell by nearly 37% between 1980 and 1990, and in many regions, numbers have yet to recover.

“Young people who grew up in farming families are opting not to continue the businesses for a variety of reasons,” said Megan Schossow of the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center. These include concerns about health care access in rural areas, the financial risks of farming, and uncertainty over future profitability.

For newcomers without family ties to farming, the hurdles are steep. Land and equipment costs have soared, making it difficult for aspiring farmers to break in. And with fewer farmers overall — now less than 1% of the U.S. population — the generational transfer of knowledge is fading.

“In the past, institutional knowledge would've been shared from one generation to another,” Hlubik said. “Now we simply don't have as many people as we had that are actively farming.”

How Serious Is the Threat?

Experts disagree on how directly the aging farm population will affect the nation’s food supply.

Locker called the leadership gap a “threat to the resilience of the most essential system in the country — our food supply.” Farmers without successors are often left to consolidate or sell their land, potentially reducing production capacity.

But Chris Wolf, a professor of agricultural economics at Cornell University, suggested the main concern may not be food shortages. “It's not clear that it's really a food security issue,” he said. “It's more about a way of life… Farms end up being a major economic driver in rural communities so if you don't have as many farms around, then you lose local businesses.”

Seeds of Hope

Despite the challenges, there are signs of progress. Between 2017 and 2022, the number of new farmers in the U.S. rose by 11%, and in 2023, agriculture graduates entering the workforce grew by 3%, USDA data shows.

At Rutgers, the RU Ready to Farm program received more than 500 applications, with over 230 participants currently enrolled. Hlubik, who leads the program, said the importance of training new farmers “needs to rise,” even if he hesitates to label the situation a “crisis.”

Whether America’s agricultural future will be shaped by a new generation of farmers or dominated by large-scale corporate operations may depend on policy decisions, financial support for beginning farmers, and the industry’s ability to make farming an attractive career path once again.