Government takes measures to assimilate young farmers

10/18/2011

The lack of young farmers has grown troublesome for the farming industry, as the average age of the American farmer is nearly 60, the Herald reports.

Rising crop prices have greatly increased land values, and has made nearly impossible to start farming without significant help from family or the government.

In order to rectify this, the government is offering low-interest USDA loans that can cover as much as 1.75 percent on operational costs and 4.25 percent on land purchases through the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Loans program.

In order to speed up the program, lawmakers recently introduced a new bill that would lower eligibility standards for the program.

"We think the farm bill should address the critical problem of the aging of American agriculture and the lack of economic opportunity to get into farming for younger people," Ferd Hoefner, the policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, told the media outlet.

In order to be eligible for a loan, a farmer must not have operated a farm or ranch for more than 10 years and can't own a piece of land greater than 30 percent of the median-size farm in their county, according to the USDA's website.

If accepted, the measure isn't expected to take effect until 2013, the Herald notes.