Farmer in Training

Growing the next generation of Vermont's Farmers

I worked part-time at Intervale Community Farm for a few seasons and was always intrigued to watch farmer Andy Jones flit from fixing tractors to discussing insect control strategies to marketing his vegetables to managing his staff, all within one morning. While most of us would spend our entire careers on any one of these topics, farmers need to know them all to be successful.

At the same time, young people wishing to become farmers can’t just sign up for classes to learn how to effectively control weeds, enhance soil organic matter, and fix complicated machinery at their local colleges.

Probably not coincidentally, as we’re failing to offer education to young folks who aspire to be farmers, we’re watching the average age of US farmers grow older and older. The USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture shows the average age of US farmers to be 57 (up from 55 in the 2002 census). Vermont’s farmers are just a bit younger than the national average: our average farmer is 56.3 years old (and up from 54.3 in 2002)!

USDA 2007 Census of Agriculture

At the same time as our farmers are edging closer to retirement, we know we need more local farmers: we currently have more demand than supply for local food. Even at City Market, where we do all we can to source local products, we have a long list of local product gaps.

To keep growing our local food system then, it is vitally important to bring many of the younger generations into farming.

That’s why I was particularly excited to hear details this week of UVM’s new Farmer Apprentice Program – a 7 month long training program for aspiring farmers. The program includes both hands-on time at several local farms, as well as classroom time to learn some of the more heady concepts. There will even be several sessions held at City Market to help aspiring farmers learn about wholesale production for retail markets. I’m excited to get to rub shoulders with these young farmers this summer and help give them all we can to aide their success!