Farmers are getting older. They’re working longer, staying on the land later and continuing to do what they’ve done for decades: heading out day after day after day to work their land.
In 1978, the average age of the American farmer was just over 50. In 2007, it was creeping toward 60, at just over 57-years-old. What does that mean for the agriculture industry? Harvest Public Media went to answer that question by focusing on this massive demographic shift that affects not just rural America but the power and potential of an entire industry.
As part of this examination, Harvest reporter Grant Gerlock and his colleagues at Nebraska Educational Telecommunications produced this television documentary.
Harvest Public Media’s reporters also produced a series of five special stories exploring different aspects of the topic that can be read and heard through the links below: