As humans, all of us have direct family ties to agriculture somewhere in our heritage. At the dawn of men, we were hunters and gatherers, living off the land to feed our families. From early humans to today’s farmers, family involvement in agriculture is a core value that has remained constant. We must preserve this American dream by preserving this tradition through education, inspiration and opportunity for all.

Daily activities brought many families together over the years as they were spent working side by side with brothers and sisters to create a better life for future generations with the sweat, blood and tears that were poured into tilling up the land and caring for the animals. Regularly, five to seven young children worked together daily to feed the cows, plow the land and gather the eggs to help their mother and father live the American Dream.

Naturally, as time progressed, technologies and innovations drew many young people to cities and towns to meet the needs of our American service-driven economy. The issue that we face today is the large number of farmers whose children did not return to the family farm, and they do not have anyone who will take over the business.

In fact, only 2 percent of Americans currently live on farms. This population provides the commodities we need to fuel our American economy. The concerning aspect is that the average age of the U.S. farmer is 57 years old. As it stands today, we have several issues that must be addressed to ensure prosperity for young men and women who may want to graduate and begin farming.

So what are the barriers for young farmers?

The first issue is internal succession planning. Unfortunately, when mothers and fathers pass away, they often have multiple children who may disagree on the passage of the farm. One sibling may want to continue to farm, but the other children may want to sell the farm, especially with prices for one acre of land reaching historic highs of $20,000. The dollar signs are appealing, but the benefits of carrying on the tradition must be realized. We also need to repeal the Death Tax, which puts a large burden on young farmers when they must pay an excessive tax to the IRS when land is repurchased in their family.

We must continue to provide assistance and counseling to families who want to pass their family farm onto the next generation through programs such as the Beginning Farmers Network at Iowa State. Many times, families wait much too long to think about succession planning. Families need to take the proper steps to make sure that if a farm is able to stay in the family, it stays within the family.

It must be realized that a lack of planning is not only detrimental to the family on the farm, but an entire rural community. In rural areas with small populations, it is the leadership and promise that the next generation brings to school systems, churches and community organizations that must be recognized. We need young families to return to rural areas and expand upon the leadership and vision that prior generations have developed.

The second issue is the amount of capital that is required to start a farming operation. When you calculate the amount of land and machinery that is needed to run a successful business, it is going to require more than a $1 million investment alone to reach standard industry operation. We must provide support for young farmers who want to begin a career in production agriculture. Money from the government needs to be set aside for young farmers to begin farming with reduced interest rates on loans, which will contribute to promoting their long term growth.

A third issue that has settled recently, but will most likely come up again in the near future, is child labor on farms. Recently, family farms were under fire because of the children working on their farms. What must be realized is that children enjoy the work that they are doing on the family farm. Young farm children learn to work with animals as well as educate themselves on crop production and communication by taking part in the day-to-day farming practices. The other important aspect is the fact that they develop a passion for farming that will help them continue family tradition.

Finally, we need agricultural education in some way, shape or form from preschool to college to gain support from high schools and universities across the nation. Young children need to be taught about agricultural opportunities and also understand where their food comes from. If we are able to do this, we will bridge a gap, and young people who are multiple generations from the farm will have an understanding for the work their ancestors have accomplished. We need to begin educating the younger generations about the advantages of studying agriculture to ensure that there will be agriculturalists to feed the needs of our future generations.

As a next generation agriculturalist, I feel as though I won the birth lottery when I was born into a family that has farmland and an opportunity to continue to capitalize on the decisions of my great-grandfather, grandfather and father. The components that help family-run farms must be supported by the American public. They are unique diamonds in the rough that must be preserved with renewed attention paid to their survival. Rural America depends upon it.