There’s an eerie silence among aging farmers but that doesn’t mean they aren’t struggling.
As Politico reports, in recent months, lawmakers introduced legislation to make sure young farmers have their voices heard in the next farm bill.
But a report released last year by the National Young Farmers Coalition showed that farmers aged 65 and older outnumber farmers aged 35 and under by 6 to 1 and John K. Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, says that although aging farmers may be less vocal about how much they are suffering, lawmakers should not assume that they don’t need any assistance, as well.
“The silence should not be taken to mean things are OK. It means a lot of folks have given up on waiting for remedy,” Hansen said, adding that the Nebraska Rural Response Hotline has fielded more calls from farmers facing financial struggles than any other time since it launched in 1984.
Hansen said many of those same farmers have lost faith that Congress is going to do anything.
