The land-succession issue and the graying farmer population (the average age is 58) have spurred the USDA to pour almost $130 million into beginning-farmer education and training programs since 2009. Also, 75 percent of funding through the Farm Service Agency, the USDA’s lending arm, is reserved for beginning farmers. In fiscal year 2016, the agency made or guaranteed almost 6,000 landownership loans to beginning farmers, totaling about $1.5 billion, roughly double the dollar figure in 2010.
The bottom line: The number of U.S. tenant farmers age 25 to 44 has defied overall trends, climbing 9 percent from 2007 to 2012.