Next-Generation Farmers
We caught up with past Top Producer award winners as they reflect on the past and share what they wish they had known when they were just starting out in agriculture.
Nelson & Sons Farm in Louisiana, alongside the National Black Growers Council, is cultivating the next generation of black row crop farmers through in-field experience and customized youth programming.
Here are four pieces of gray-haired wisdom from the auction price guy.
Freshly graduated from Western Illinois University, Paige Pence is getting an entirely new learning experience this summer as she gets her feet wet farming the 4,500 acres originally pieced together by her first-generation farmer parents.
Caleb Ragland is hopeful his boys will have the opportunity to be the 10th generation to carry on the family’s farming roots, but he’s concerned the fallout from trade disruptions, high input costs and low commodity prices could deliver a death blow to that dream.
Strong succession is driven by leaders who are willing to plan boldly, act decisively and invest in their next generation. Your family and your operation are counting on you.
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Brittany Hukill wasn’t planning to take over the family farm so soon. But that became her reality after losing her father when she was a teenager and then her grandpa when she was in college.
“We must ensure that we make a way for young and beginning farmers to fill our boots,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
How do you know when it’s time to start transitioning your operation to the next generation? Rena Striegel, president of Transition Point Business Partners, says to aim for a decade.
Aaron Blackmon, a North Carolina extension agent and first-generation farmer, discovered his passion through mentorship and now carries on a farm’s legacy with dedication.