Cash flow, land access big challenges
HAVING ENOUGH cash flow and access to land are the biggest challenges new farmers face, according to the National Young Farmer Coalition.
As more Minnesota farmers reach retirement age, the transition can also bring up plenty of emotions within a family.
Pam Uhlenkamp, a farm business management instructor in Mankato, said a lot of farmers want their kids to carry on the family legacy. But farming isn’t for everyone, she said, leading to tough conversations.
Uhlenkamp gave the example of a dairy farm she’s helping transition from one generation to the next.
“Every time I leave the farm, I ask the incoming generation, ‘Is milking cows what you want to do every day of your life?’ Because I feel deep
down in my heart it’s not what he wants to do, but he’s afraid to say it,” she said.
Other times, the kids make clear they don’t want to farm, and it’s tough for the farmer to let go.
“There are people coming up in the ranks that are so excited about agriculture and are so excited for the opportunities
that lie ahead of them, even though it’s hard,” said Natasha Mortenson, a former agriculture instructor who works for Riverview, a large dairy company out of Morris.
Mortenson said the older generation has to let young people in — even if those young people aren’t family.
Besides equipment costs and land access, farmers have to deal with a lot of uncertainty, said Val Aarsvold, executive director of the Minnesota FFA Foundation, which helps young people gain skills in farming and business management.
“They can do everything right, and then if the weather turns on them or the markets change, they’ve exposed themselves to a lot of risk,” she said.
“If you talk to young people who farm, there’s a twinkle in their eye as they talk about all the things they want to do,” Aarsvold said. “But there’s also that next part of the conversation of how do we get the money to start, how do we make good decisions to make sure the farm is going to feed their family?”