It might be chilling to read in the U.S. Census that the average age of an American farmer is fifty-five years old, until you realize that means one thing: They’ll be a high demand for farmers in the future. Few trends are so clearly linked to a supplier demographic with a clear understanding of a the large demands for food production as population growth continues ever higher.
If that weren’t enough, we understand that today’s farmers aren’t just people who grow vegetables, they’re also business owners who must be aware of technological innovations in their field, how to obtain small business funding during times of drought or market price drops, and some even want to be labeled “organic” farmers. Clearly, there’s a wide swatch of opportunity for the right people to take hold of and create innovative farms that meet specific market niches.
Business Opportunities Abound
There are a variety of ways that farming can be good business in the future. One can invest in a farm, even if you don’t want to own one. In a way, having a CSA (community supported agriculture) is a model that has a number of private citizens investing in a farm’s produce by way of memberships that delivered fresh produce during certain months for a set fee. However, there’s no reason you can’t just start buying up foreclosed farms and then getting new farmers to work the land for a share of the crops.
Many established farmers are seeing opportunities to create a teaching forum with their skills and knowledge for the next generation of farmers. Obviously, if you have skills in organic growing, this will be highly marketable both in a classroom and in printed materials.
Another way to get in on the farm wave is to invest in agricultural commodities. As demand continues to rise and supply falls off, those agricultural commodities are due to rise. Add the specter of biofuels to that equation, and you can see why many people see a bright future for farming, despite the aging demographics.