With the average age of a farmer creeping towards 60 you would expect that young farmers would be in high demand. This “high demand” should theoretically pave a way for young farmers to become incorporated in the farming industry. However I have found the exact opposite, as young farmers struggle to get their “foot in the door.” This is not because of laziness or lack of effort, rather is the product of a faulty system.

The impression that I have had since arriving in Iowa is the price of farm land is extremely high, which is true. Originally I thought the high price of land was the biggest deterrent to a young farmer wishing to get started in the business.  However it appears my original assumption was wrong. After talking to Luke Grans- one of the partners at The Table Top Farm – I realized that landowners are renting out, rather than selling, their land to young farmers. Luke is a young man – probably in his mid to late 20s – starting a farming operation with his wife and their best friends. He is currently renting his own land, which he believes to be the most logical move for a person his age. Young farmers should rent land in the beginning to grasp whether the life of a farmer is the right choice for them. However Luke stated that the inability of buying land in the near future will prevent farmers from securing their spot in the farming industry.

Can I blame landowners for only renting out their land? Yes. Do I understand why landowners are doing so? Absolutely. Landowners are able to make a “quick buck” from the rent charged to farmers while the farmers do all of the hard work. However, if the farmer never has a chance to buy the land and the landowner dies, the farmer could risk losing a piece of land that is vital to his operation. The next landowner – most likely a relative of the deceased landowner – might not be as inclined to sell or even rent to the young farmer. Instead the relative would allow the highest bidder – most likely a large corporation – a chance to rent. A large corporation can be seen as both big companies – such as Monsanto or Pioneer – and family farms that own or rent a large number of acres. These large family farms have a higher disposable income than the new farmer and are likely to raise the price in a bidding war, preventing the new farmer from owning or renting land.

While owning land is preferable, renting land is necessary. When a large corporation outbids a new farmer, the new farmer will be drastically affected economically and this could lead to the new farmer being squeezed out of the agribusiness. The large corporation would not have suffered at all if it had lost the bidding war on the other hand. New farmers need land to survive, let alone grow as an operation. However finding land has proved to be difficult for young farmers.

Is there a way to successfully transition to a new wave of young farmer? Yes. If landowners adopt a “rent now, buy later” option in the contracts, young farmers will avoid the predicament of losing land to a higher bidder. This option is also favorable because it gives the farmer a chance to understand the farming profession and eventually become an integral part of the farming industry. This will prevent farmers, such as Luke, from losing land they practically own after the landowner passes away. Young farmers will no longer be pushed out of the business by large corporations However this is under the assumption that landowners will eventually sell their land, instead of leaving it in their will for a relative to rent out. Unfortunately I do not see this occurring, as landowners would rather make extra money than help a young farmer get his foot in the door. For this sole reason I believe big corporations will become more prevalent in our farming industry, as the young farmer struggles to become a factor in the equation. I hope I am wrong.