16 June 2023
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Some farmers can’t afford to own the land they use to grow their produce and livestock.
“I was going to have to stop farming altogether,” said Susan Mitchell.
For Mitchell, finding farmland was an uphill battle. She spent nearly a decade bouncing from one leased plot of land to another.
“It was incredibly challenging to find something that was affordable for me as a full-time working farmer,” Mitchell said.
And she’s not alone. Mitchell says many farmers struggle to buy their own land, either because there isn’t any available or it’s too expensive.
“There are fewer farmers now than there have ever been, so the number population nationwide keeps decreasing,” Mitchell said.
To help, some lawmakers are backing bipartisan legislation to help make farmland more affordable, especially for young or underserved farmers.
“Number one, make sure we actually have food production in this country, and number two, it would also give people like Susan an opportunity to pursue their dreams,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.).
Courtney says the bill enables the USDA to provide closing costs and down payment assistance for new farmers, and funds to cover the cost of some farmland improvements. Sales between retiring farmers and the next generation will be prioritized.
“For a lot of people who really want to go out and grow crops or milk cows or you know, you name it, they’re really not land acquisition experts,” Courtney said.
Courtney worries without action like this, the country could lose the next generation of farmers.