The number of farms across the United States is decreasing significantly, especially in Iowa, according to a survey by the Department of Agriculture. Some ISU agriculture students say they know the reason for the trend.

“There is definitely a decrease in students going back to work on the family farm,” said Aaron Nelson, senior in animal science. “I’ll go back to my farm at some point, just not right now.”

There is a general perception among students that farming is not a viable option, Nelson said. Students can make money more easily and have a steady paycheck in other fields of agriculture, he said. The vast majority of them go into some type of agriculture sales, such as seed or chemicals.

“This is a major problem in the future,” said Dustin Bollig, senior in agriculture studies. “Farmers will have to get big and quick or combine together in order to compete with the larger farms.”

The survey reports Iowa has lost more than 6,000 farms since the last survey was taken in 1997.

Still, said Mark Edelman, professor of economics, despite the high numbers reported in the survey, the trend in declining farms is not a new one Iowans should be shocked about.

“Decline has been a trend since the 1920s,” Edelman said. “It’s not something that is new each decade. As farm numbers go down, farm size increases.”

Despite the loss in the number of farms in Iowa, farm land is not being lost, he said. The land is still being farmed, but by fewer farmers. Commercial farms are getting larger, which takes more capital, Edelman said.

Findings have also shown there is a large gap in the distribution of older and younger farmers. The older farmers are retiring faster than younger ones are joining, Edelman said.

“The younger generation adjusts,” he said. “They go to college and don’t return.”

Edelman said farm families are also deciding to commute to the city for work, instead of staying home to work on the farm, because jobs in town are better and they can make more money.

Mike Duffy, professor at the Beginning Farmer Center, said a majority of the farms being lost are middle-sized farms.

A small farm is considered one that has less than $2,500 in sales. A big farm has more than $500,000 in sales. Middle farms fall between the two thresholds.

Duffy, professor of economics, said the number of middle-size farms is decreasing because larger farms are taking over, causing many middle farms to be bought out. He said buyouts are occurring frequently because fewer people are available to work as farmers continue to age.

“The aging farm population is one of the biggest contributors, along with farms not generating enough income to be economically viable,” Duffy said.

This makes things hard on the rural community, because less densely populated areas have fewer people to form an economic base and to be involved in civic development, Duffy said.

“This is a great impact on the state as a whole,” he said.

Because of the frequency of buyouts, there will be a lot of competition among neighbors to gain more land, Bollig said.

To encourage young adults to continue farming, Duffy works with a program through the Beginning Farmer Center at Iowa State. About 40 students are involved in the program.

The program’s goal is to match young adults interested in farming with unrelated partners. Duffy said students will eventually take over operation of the farm in the future.

Information on better farming techniques will give the younger farmers an edge, he said. Bollig said the more competitive young farmers can be, the better their chance of survival.