A recent National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) study finds that access to affordable land is the top barrier facing young farmers in the U.S., especially for Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Asian, and other farmers of color. Nationwide, individual and community-led efforts are working to expand farmland access and management to address systemic barriers.

Today, the average age of the U.S. farmer is 57.5 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture 2017 Census of Agriculture. And young farmers across the board cite land access as a common barrier. The USDA reports that there are 321,261 agricultural producers under the age of 35; 96 percent are White, 0.75 percent are Black, 1.86 percent are American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.62 percent are Asian, 0.08 percent are Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 1 percent are multi-race.

To expand land access to historically marginalized farmers, NYFC outlines a series of federal and local changes in their 2022 Young Farmer Agenda. These include improving outreach to young farmers and investing in community-led projects that center Indigenous farmers and farmers of color, preventing further land loss in communities of color, and ensuring that young farmers have access to credit so they can compete in the real estate market.

Young farmers and community-led organizations have already been working to address these recommendations. “Repairing our relationship with the soil and how we connect to food will heal a lot of the world’s problems,” Isa Jamira, a young farmer, activist, chef, and artist based in New York City tells Food Tank. Through acquiring land and building outdoor educational spaces that center Indigenous knowledge, Jamira’s mission is to empower people to take care of themselves and the Earth.

Read the full article about equitable farmland access by Amelia Keleher at Food Tank.