American Farm Bureau Survey Shows: Young Farmers Embrace Technology, Trade

America's young farmers and ranchers are investing in new technology and business practices to sharpen their competitive edge. And they see government policies to boost U.S. farm exports, such as establishing permanent normal trade relations with China, as the best way to address the top challenge facing them today – profit.

A survey of about 300 young farmers and ranchers, ages 18-35, from 47 states was conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) during the World Congress of Young Farmers in February. Overall results of the informal survey show that the future of American agriculture is in competent and caring hands.

Ranking the challenges

Reflecting present farm economic conditions, more than a third of the young U.S. farmers surveyed said overall profitability was their top concern. The list of challenges faced by young farmers and ranchers, in descending order, is as follows:

1. profitability
2. cost of government regulations
3. availability of land and other resources
4. urban encroachment on farmland
5. competition from larger farms
6. tax burdens
7. labor availability and related regulations

Other top challenges were the willingness of parents to turn over more control of the farm, availability of financing and health care availability.

Exports are vital

The young farmers view international trade as the key to profitability. Respondents said boosting U.S. agricultural exports was the most important step the U.S. government could take to help them and their farms.

Nearly two-thirds of the young farmers said once the current farm program expires, farm income should continue to be supplemented to some degree by the federal government. Less than 35 percent said farm income should come totally from the marketplace.

Technology use

Use of technology by young farmers and ranchers continues to skyrocket. Internet access among young farmers is at 77 percent. Figures show that nationally, only about 43 percent of American households are connected to the Internet. Just four years ago, only about 10 percent of young farmers reported having Internet access. Overall, computers are used on the farm by more than 90 percent of those surveyed, and some 5 percent of respondents reported having their own Internet home page.

About 87percent of respondents use cellular phones, while more than one-fourth of the young farmers reported making online purchases using e-commerce. The number of young farmers who plant biotech crops or plan to do so within the next two years was nearly 60 percent. The use of global positioning systems and global information services, where satellite technology is used to plot precise field activities, was reported by nearly 24 percent.

Conservation and the environment

This year's respondents reported a strong commitment to conservation and the use of environmentally beneficial farming practices. Approximately 95 percent of the young farmers surveyed said they select farming practices based on both the environment and economics.

Nearly two-thirds said they employ conservation tillage on their farms. Some six out of 10 respondents said they regularly test soil or crop tissue prior to the application of nutrients, and more than half said they practice crop rotation with three or more crops. More than a third said they use integrated pest management techniques such as field scouting to reduce crop protectant use.

Regarding other practices, more than 20 percent regularly test their private well water; use contour farming or strip cropping; leave buffer strips to benefit wildlife; and have land enrolled in the conservation reserve program. About 16 percent owned wetland resources that they actively manage.

Managing and marketing

The survey also reveals that young farmers employ a number of special management and marketing practices and services to gain a competitive edge. The most common was marketing information services, used by 51 percent of respondents. Second was the use of futures and options markets, followed by use of professional crop consultants, production of farm products through contract agreements, and the use of marketing and management consultants.

Income and attitudes

To supplement farm income, more than 70 percent of the young farmers surveyed said that they, their spouse or both work off the farm. Of those reporting off-farm employment, 51 percent said the availability of health insurance was the primary reason. In addition to off-farm employment, about 62 percent supplement their farm income with other farm-related enterprises such as custom work, truck driving and seed or supply sales. Nearly 70 percent of the respondents said they were better off financially than they were five years ago. Less than 53 percent said they are more optimistic about farming than they were five years ago. Yet, about 94 percent planned on being farmers for life, and about 90 percent said they would like to see their children follow in their footsteps.

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