Starting them young in agriculture

How do you keep them down on the farm? It helps if you can reach them when they’re young.

It doesn’t get as much attention as other business sectors such as manufacturing, but agriculture remains a key component of Crawford County’s economy. What’s more, it’s a stable component, and has been for as long as anyone can remember.

But there are some trends in farming that, if not necessarily troubling to the industry, are certainly of concern.

It’s no secret Crawford County’s population is getting older, as are those of most of its neighboring counties. Its agricultural producers are aging as well.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest agricultural census, which compared industry statistics from 2012 to 2007 numbers, the average age of the Crawford County farmer rose from 55.8 to 58.8 years, although the principal operator’s years on the farm also increased, from 26.2 to 29.0 years.

A long-held perception of farming is that a person has to either inherit an operation or marry into the business to get started, and certainly that’s what happens a good deal of the time in heavily agricultural counties like Crawford.

But that perception isn’t accurate much of the time, nor should it be a deal-breaker.

“That’s not always true, from my experience. There are a lot of big farmers looking for employees,” said Allison Cooper, 4-H youth development educator for the county’s Ohio State Extension office.

Indeed, the largest agriculture operations in the area aren’t just growing, they’re hiring.

Hord Livestock, south of Bucyrus, is looking to supplement its current staff of 160 employees by bringing on swine herdsmen, CDL transport specialists, a facility maintenance manager and a Ph.D swine nutritionist.

The sprawling pork operation grows 24,000 sows companywide, and grows grain for its hogs on 5,500 acres in Crawford County alone, with 200 corn customers and more than 100 swine growers. And Hord is putting the finishing touches on a shiny, new 10,000-square-foot office building on the east side of Ohio 98, across from its main operation.

Meanwhile, a short commute to the west, Kalmbach Feeds at Upper Sandusky has openings for 24 positions, from accounting and human resources to nutrition and transportation.

Many farmers, however, prefer to work for themselves, and starting a farm is a little more involved than, say, opening a pizza parlor.

“To truly get into it with no connections, the first step may be finding somebody who’s getting older and is looking for someone to take over the operation,” said Jason Hartschuh, agriculture and natural resources educator for the local extension office.

“Although there’s a lot of rented ground, land is a major capital outlay. Seed and fertilizer in the spring can be a hurdle when you have no funds from a harvest in the fall. And of course equipment is not cheap.”

According to the USDA, total farm production expenses in Crawford County went from an average of $141,355 per farm in 2007 to $246,744 in 2012. Costs more than doubled for both chemicals and fuels, from around $5,500 a year to more than $11,000, while cash rent for land, buildings and grazing fees rose from $10,606 in 2007 to $18,760 five years later.

Farming a large plot of land for commercial sale also is more complex than it used to be, “but once you learn about it and why things are changing, you realize it’s for a good reason,” Cooper said.

Hartschuh mentioned his office offered eight programs on the new farm bill through the fall and winter, in conjunction with the local USDA Farm Service Agency office.

Given the increasing costs and complexity of farming, perhaps it’s no surprise consolidation has become a reality in Crawford County, as well as in the state and nation.

The number of farms overall in the county dropped from 682 in 2007 to 634 in 2012, the USDA said, with average acreage rising from 322 to 379 acres. But at the same time, a counter-trend toward smaller operations also is emerging.

“Some who are getting into agriculture with small-scale plots want to understand how food is produced. They’re two or three generations removed and they want to relearn that,” Hartschuh said.

Even for a small livestock, vegetable or fruit tree operation, however, the capital outlay can be large and the science side can be daunting to someone coming to agriculture from another profession.

Local 4-H educators, however, are committed to making sure youths interested in agriculture understand what they’re getting into.

“A big, new push is learning by doing. We want our youths to be prepared to seek employment. When they apply for, say, the junior fair board, we ask them to fill out a job description, not just an application. And we conduct interviews to get them ready for that interaction, even for livestock projects,” Cooper said.

“Agriculture is very labor-intensive, and limits time for other activities. But as with any small business, the ability to run your own business betters the community, and you’re making a product that’s wholesome and good for everyone around you,” Hartschuh said.

“In what other profession can you give back to the land, where what you do ultimately determines the outcome?”

thill3@nncogannett.com

419-563-9225

Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ