The Economic Research Service recently published Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, a report to answer the following questions: How does USDA define a beginning farmer and rancher, How do they differ from established farms and ranches, How likely are they to participate in government programs, and What do we know about recent farming entry rates, as well as the growth and survival of entrants?

Beginning farmers and ranchers are defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as those who have operated a farm or ranch for 10 years or less.

The most intriguing new insight from the report is that the majority of beginning farmers (70%) own all the land they operate. Beginning farmers of course are smaller on average compared to established farmers and ranchers (174 acres versus 461), and they carry higher levels of debt. High start-up costs and a lack of access to land continue to be the biggest barriers facing beginning farmers and ranchers.

Beginners were less likely than established farmers or ranchers to participate in government programs, according to the report. In 2007, roughly 25 percent of beginners participated in commodity or conservation programs versus 42 percent of established farmers and ranchers.

That is why the Center for Rural Affairs and many others advocated for (and by the way, won) greater focus and attention to beginning farmer and rancher issues in the 2008 farm bill. These provisions include conservation and credit programs as well as programs to help beginners establish high-value, niche markets that support small-scale farming efforts. We should reassess beginning farmer participation in government programs again in 2012, after beginners have had a chance to take advantage of these new opportunities.

And perhaps the most important thing USDA can do for beginning farmers and ranchers is to create the new Office of Advocacy and Outreach as mandated by the 2008 farm bill. This special office will be directly under the Secretary of Agriculture, rather than buried deep in the USDA bureaucracy and never seen or heard from again. It will establish departmental goals and objectives, measure outcomes, and provide input to programmatic and policy decisions across all USDA agencies. Beginning farmer and rancher issues and concerns will then be represented and addressed agency-wide.

The report has many more observations to be explored, and you can find it online at www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB53.

Contact: Traci Bruckner, tracib@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1016 for more information.