DES MOINES — An agriculture program in Iowa is helping new and up and coming farmers learn from more experienced ones – and its organizers have uncovered another outcome they weren’t expecting.
The Practical Farmers of Iowa’s “Labor for Learning” program recruits farmers who have been around for a while to teach new farmers where to start. The program teaches beginning farmers practical, hands-on skills and helps them understand ag management practices and financial strategies.
It also gives those more experienced farmers some extra hands on their land. Research shows roughly 10% of the nation’s farmland will transition to the next generation in just five years.
Practical Farmers of Iowa farmland viability coordinator Martha McFarland says while the Labor for Learning program is good for teaching the next generation, organizers were surprised to discover that the more experienced farmers are also potentially recruiting people they will pass their farm on to – as rural America undergoes a huge generational shift in land ownership. “It’s really awkward to have a match between a retiring farmer and someone who might come in and take over the land and just say ‘OK, now take over,'” said McFarland. “There has to be some kind of an interim getting to know you period. And so, to be able to help retiring farmers find that, in that context, is really helpful.”
McFarland says the more experienced farmers go through a training program with Practical Farmers of Iowa before they take on the new ones.
