Farming Faces Challenges Amidst Rising Costs
We've all felt the squeeze from higher prices at the grocery store in the last few years. Farmers across this country have been feeling the pinch too. Battling rising costs and the prospect that younger generations may not view farming as the noble profession it once was. But there is a new push to change that.
Transcript
00:00 We've all felt the squeeze from higher prices at the grocery store the last few years.
00:06 Farmers across the country have been feeling the pinch too, battling rising costs and the
00:12 prospect that younger generations may not view farming as the noble profession it once
00:16 was.
00:17 But Scripps News national correspondent Chris Conte shows us how a new push by the Biden
00:22 administration is trying to change that.
00:26 Over the years I've crisscrossed the country talking to countless farmers in dozens of
00:30 states and one thing that keeps coming up is that they're worried that their kids and
00:34 grandkids don't want to take over the family farm.
00:37 But a new USDA program is trying to change that.
00:42 If you spend any time with a farmer in this country, chances are they will tell you they
00:46 feel like one of the most underappreciated professions in America.
00:51 The days are long, the profits are marginal, and more often it's getting harder to recruit
00:56 a younger generation.
00:57 I talk to so many farmers now whose grandkids don't want to take the farm or whose kids
01:03 don't want to take the farm.
01:04 That's a big problem.
01:05 John Ricketts is a third generation farmer.
01:08 He also oversees the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at Tennessee State
01:13 University.
01:14 It's important because we want to keep the farm, maintain the farm, and have that for
01:19 our future generations.
01:22 Having been around farming most of his life, Ricketts knows agriculture isn't necessarily
01:27 the most diverse profession, nor does it always appeal to young people.
01:31 But there are efforts underway to change that.
01:33 Yes, I am a NextGen scholar, so I'm very excited.
01:37 Meet Zion Hogan.
01:40 She just got a full scholarship to Tennessee State's Ag program next year, thanks to a
01:44 new program launched by the USDA called NextGen.
01:48 TSU received $18 million in federal grant money because of the program.
01:53 It offers me encouragement and purpose.
01:56 I'm afforded the opportunity to research and demonstrate what I'm able to learn.
02:04 Here's how it's working.
02:05 The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $262.6 million in higher education institutions
02:12 to help foster the next generation of agricultural professionals across the U.S. and increase
02:17 diversity in the field.
02:19 The list of colleges include places like Alaska, California, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Texas.
02:24 Some are historically black colleges and universities.
02:27 Others are Hispanic-serving institutions.
02:30 And still others are tribal land-grant institutions.
02:33 We want diversity, certainly, because we want to represent the entire population.
02:41 Manjeet Misra is with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
02:45 You know, many times young people, they think that food comes from the grocery store.
02:50 It does not.
02:51 Farms across the U.S. continue to decline.
02:53 In 2007, the USDA estimated there were about 2.2 million farms in the country.
02:59 That number is now closer to 2 million, a 9 percent decrease.
03:03 More than 20,000 students will learn about agriculture and will help us fulfill the workforce
03:09 gaps that we have.
03:11 Carlos Ortiz with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture hopes by removing financial
03:16 barriers for students aspiring to get into ag, it will help grow the industry overall.
03:21 So really being able to have students from many walks of life, from many regions in the
03:25 country to participate, to know what agriculture is about and contribute to it will help sustain
03:32 our agricultural sector.
03:33 We want them to walk out of here and this program and being a scholarship recipient
03:38 knowing this is where I can make an impact and this is where I can make a life.
03:45 As for John Ricketts, he is preparing for the semester ahead.
03:49 In addition to providing scholarships, TSU is also working to expand their ag program
03:54 thanks to NextGen, all in hopes of encouraging the next generation of American farmers.
04:02 Chris Conte, Scripps News, Nashville.