Meet the new crop of American farmers — young and energetic
idealists who are bringing local, sustainable food back to the table.
Who do you picture when you think of an
American farmer? A leathery-handed AARP type who rises at dawn, works
the fields all day and returns home when Sally Mae rings the supper
bell? If so, you aren’t too far off. According to the USDA,
the average American agrarian is a white male aged 55 or older. And
some studies show that the presence of young farmers, 18 to 35, is
actually in decline.
But while they might be dwindling in
numbers, young farmers are growing in visibility. And they’re a motley,
stereotype-shatteringcrew, for sure.
They’re urban, they hold advanced
degrees and they’re often female. They sprout up in not-so-bucolic
places like Brooklyn, Oakland, Atlanta and Indianapolis, and they
sometimes work as educators, eco-entrepreneurs, yogis, journalists,
filmmakers, activists and doting parents on the side. They’re passionate
and adventurous. And most notably, they’re focused on sustainability
and community building.
The following list features 40 American farmers under the age of 40, compiled with help from dozens of people in the farming industry — from farmers themselves to those who help them in the nonprofit sector to those in the media who cover them. They aren’t in any particular order (farmer No. 5 isn’t necessarily better than farmer No. 15, for example), and in no way should this list be considered scientific. Think of it more as starting point, a beginning to a larger conversation about the collective hope for the future of American farming.
Straw hats off to older farmers — they’re the agricultural backbone of this country — but it’s also time to acknowledge that Young MacDonald has a farm, too. These 40 up-and-coming farmers are happily working the earth from Roy, Wash., to Tivoli, N.Y., and the crops they grow are just as diverse as their backgrounds. Without further ado, let’s meet the gang …
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