Category Archives: beginning farmers

updated statistics on beginning farmers

Posted on February 16, 2013 by admin

The Economic Research Service recently published a brief with updated statistics on beginning farmers, defined as those who have been farming (on their current farm) for less than 10 years.  The data forming the foundation of the report are from … Continue reading →

Posted in beginning farmers, census of agriculture, USDA | 1 Comment

In Memphis!

Posted on September 20, 2012 by admin

I am at the Small Farm Conference in Memphis TN. This is my first trip to Memphis, and last night I saw a lot of motorcycles and ate some heart-stopping food (meaning high in saturated fat) with colleagues at Blues … Continue reading →

Posted in beginning farmers, buy local, food system, regional food systems | 2 Comments

I’m back online

Posted on March 15, 2012 by admin

Whew. Spring break at last, after a whirlwind of activity during the first two weeks of the month. The recently released Know Your Farmer Compass is on my mind. Because I am writing a full discussion of the release for … Continue reading →

Posted in beginning farmers, food policy, food system, organic food, sustainable agriculture | Leave a comment

more on young farmers

Posted on January 4, 2012 by admin

While I love working with data, I hate making sure I am matching “apples to apples” and not “apples to kumquats.” Another tricky aspect is making sure that I am using the best data to investigate my question. Adding to … Continue reading →

Posted in beginning farmers, census of agriculture | 2 Comments

where are the young farmers?

Posted on January 3, 2012 by admin

When I think about new or beginning farmers, I get pretty excited. My mind is full of visions of young people flocking to farming – not in a back to the land movement that is a throwback of the hippies … Continue reading →

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do you wonder why young people decide to farm?

Posted on October 22, 2011 by admin

The current leadership team at USDA – Vilsack/Merrigan – has devoted ample time and resources to encouraging young people to farm. There is good reason for this type of outreach: the 2007 Census of Agriculture reports that the average age … Continue reading →

Posted in beginning farmers, Food studies, NYU event | 1 Comment