New Report Highlights Biggest Challenges of Young Farmers

Posted by Brian Sparks|September 20, 2022

Photo: National Young Farmers Coalition

The long-term success of emerging markets such as controlled-environment agriculture often lies in its youngest members. With that in mind, the National Young Farmers Coalition, a national grassroots advocacy organization working to shift power and change policy to equitably resource a new generation of working farmers, recently conducted a survey.

The survey results and analysis are now available in a new report, which can be found here. Among some of the key findings:

Finding affordable land to buy is the top challenge for young farmers
Climate change is impacting young farmers’ businesses across the country
86% of young farmers identify their practices as regenerative, or supportive of healthy soils
82% grow vegetables, and 66% grow flowers

The report also offers key recommendations for policy makers, including addressing cost of production and market access challenges, and investing in climate action and water access. Additionally, it offers case studies – including indoor vegetable and flower growers – that provide insights on their most pressing challenges.

You can find the full report here.