Program on the Environment

The future of the farming industry is in peril. As conventional agriculture degrades our environment and the average farmer’s age creeps toward retirement, a fundamental shift needs to occur in our food system. The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons that regenerative and organic farmers hesitated to enter their career and the why they decided to farm anyway. The overarching goal of this research was to determine specific shifts that need to be made within the agricultural sector to increase the number of young farmers working in regenerative or organic farming. To accomplish this task, I utilized my internship at The Organic Farm School (OFS) to interview several alumni regarding their motivations behind their career choice and decision to pursue agricultural training. Additionally, I distributed surveys to several local organic or regenerative farms in order to gauge the motivations of a wider audience of farmers. Furthermore, I reviewed relevant literature to explore the tangible environmental and social benefits of regenerative and organic agriculture over conventional. The results indicate that farmers’ biggest hesitations about their career are personal economics and the lack of available land. While many farmers indicate that their passion for the environment and provision of healthy food for their communities can override those initial hesitations, it is clear that if farming paid more and farmland was accessible, there may be a higher population of young farmers. With more regenerative and organic farmers, more people will have access to agricultural products that are healthy and climate-friendly.