Series: Farmers Under 40

(07/08/11) Beginning farmers from both sides of Lake Champlain gathered at the Grange Hall in rural crossroads of Whallonsburg in late June for a sort of mixer.

The mixer was organized by the Greenhorns, a nonprofit group that works on behalf of young farmers. The day included area farm tours, workshops, food, a puppet show, and camaraderie. Typical old grange-style stuff. But it wasn't farm business as usual.

Sarah Harris found the young farmers there are on a mission to change agriculture in America. more

(07/11/11) This week we begin a series of stories and conversations about the next generation of farmers in the North Country. We're calling it "Farmers under 40". They're young, energetic and willing to make sacrifices to be part of the farmer-foodie culture.

Community Supported Agriculture, or "CSA", is a growing trend across the region with people who like to know where their food is grown and that it's fresh. It's like subscription agriculture. Members join before the growing season begins, giving the grower the money to buy seeds and supplies. They also share in the farm's seasonal bounty.

One such CSA, Fledging Crow Vegetables, is run by Ian Ater and Lucas Christenson. Todd Moe recently visited their small farm just outside of Keeseville, south of Plattsburgh. Chances are you've seen the Fledging Crow booth at a farmers' market in the Adirondacks or Champlain Valley this summer. Ater and Christenson are both college educated, but growing and peddling spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and carrots wasn't in their early career plans. Now in their late-20's, the two friends are committed -- physically and financially -- to dirt, sweat and feeding the North Country. more

(07/11/11) It used to be dairy farmers in the North Country didn't think too much about marketing their product or who would be eating or drinking it at the kitchen table. A truck owned by your co-op rolled up and emptied the bulk tank. Off went your milk to be processed by someone else.

That's still the case on many dairy farms. But in today's diversified mix of organic and vegetable and pasture-raised livestock farms, things are changing. And Bernadette Logozar says young farmers are leading the way. Logozar is the regional local foods specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension.

She told David Sommerstein farmers under 40 are using new tools like Facebook and Twitter and good old-fashioned word of mouth to market their own products. more

(07/12/11) Today, we continue our week-long series Farmers Under 40 with a look at the young people getting into what many consider a shriveling industry.

Dairy remains one of the biggest overall drivers of the North Country economy. Yet half the dairy farms there were twenty years ago are gone. The average age of a dairy farmer is almost 60 years old. Some years it costs more to milk a cow than you can sell the milk for.

till, young farmers are going into dairy. And as David Sommerstein reports, they're bringing a sharp business acumen and a passion to the barn. more

(07/12/11) Two years ago, about a hundred young farmers gathered in Tarrytown, New York and came up with the idea of creating an organization to support young people wanting to work the land and make a living off of it. They named the group the National Young Farmers Coalition. One of its co-founders is Severine von Tscharner Fleming. She manages Smithereen, a 100-acre farm on rented land in the Hudson Valley. We'll hear from her in just a moment.

According to the USDA, the average age of the American farmer is 57. Von Tscharner Fleming says young farmers--descendents of traditional farmers, inner-city gardeners, homesteaders, college graduates and ex-suburbanites--face tremendous structural obstacles: access to land, capital, education, and business training. She told Todd Moe that one of the principle ideas behind the coalition is that if the country wants active farms and sustainable food production in fifty years, the next generation needs help.

(07/13/11) "Get big or get out" is a common wisdom in the dairy industry. And many small-scale farms have gotten out. Northern New York has half the dairy farms it did 20 years ago, and the remaining farms are generally much bigger. Some are much, much bigger.

In Vermont, the number of dairy farms dropped below 1,000 in May. But not everybody getting out of dairy is leaving farming altogether. One family operation in Ferrisburgh is repurposing the farm, and starting small. Angela Evancie has this installment of our series, Farmers Under 40. more

(07/14/11) Land grant schools like Cornell University have long specialized in teaching agriculture. But across the country, liberal arts colleges are adding programs about food, farming, and sustainability to their curricula.

They're not teaching farming per se--no classes about pests or crop rotation. They're giving farming the full liberal arts treatment, offering courses in philosophy and economics, as well as some work in the field.

As Sarah Harris reports, they want students to think critically about food systems and sustainable practices. more

(07/15/11) Even as young adults are learning to farm in college, one of the most iconic organizations for kids growing up in rural, traditionally agricultural communities, Future Farmers of America, has shifted its mission away from farming.

In fact, it's not even called "Future Farmers of America" anymore -- in 1988, it changed its name to "the National FFA Organization." And its mission now is to help teach kids to "meet the challenges of feeding a growing population" through work in "a broad range of career pathways."

Farming's still part of that but a less important part. With farmers growing older and few kids coming up to replace them, the change raises a lot of questions.

Carol Wright is the FFA advisor for Canton Central School. She's from a North Country farm family, and she was an FFA member when she was in school.
Her brother's still a farmer, as are a lot of her former high school classmates. She told Nora Flaherty the change in focus reflects a larger social shift.

(07/18/11) There's no doubt farming's a volatile industry. With grain and gas prices constantly fluctuating, and more and more consumers searching for low prices, it's no wonder the number of farms has dropped.

The key to farming since the 1970s has been to go big with a few cash crops, search out efficiency, utilize technology, and produce more from each acre.

Some young farmers want to do it their own way. They want to stay small, avoid mainstream distribution, and maybe grow organic. These new farmers face different challenges from their traditional predecessors, but they can't avoid the economics. more

(07/25/11) Our Farmers Under 40 series continues throughout the summer. Today we have a profile of Joe Orefice, an assistant professor of forestry at Paul Smith's College.

Orefice taught the school's first sustainable community agriculture course this past year. He also owns and operates a small farm, which he uses as a teaching tool.

This summer Paul Smith's culinary students visited Joe's farm for a lesson in local meats. Sarah Harris joined them and has our story. more