Did you know 96% of all farms are still family-owned in the United States? For those of us in agriculture that isn’t that surprising, but for those outside of agriculture that number could be shocking. Why? Well honestly, that’s because a family farm doesn’t look like what pictures, history, tv or story books paint it. It’s not that simple anymore.
Our farm is currently raising the 6th generation and many other farms are in the double digits as far as generation and during that time things shift. They change and all of a sudden, the picture becomes well not what anyone pictured. Here are a few reasons why:
1. Farms have expanded beyond their original location. Yes, farms are bigger than in the past and families have had to move, but they are still doing what previous generations have done.
2. There was more than one kid. Most farm families have more than one child so if there were multiple that wanted to farm, this leads back to point number one, but it also means that sometimes farmers had to find a new location to farm.
3. The in-law factor. In our situation my husband is a second-generation farmer from Indiana and now he is part of our multi-generation farm. There are many times someone marries into the farm who may not come from a farm background and that’s totally okay!
4. It’s not always linear. Farms aren’t always passed from father to son and so on. It’s not that simple anymore. Sometimes it’s a nephew of the person on the farm that wants to come into the farm. It’s still family, just not linear.
5. Farmers can be women. Once you say farmer many people still think of a man, but especially now many farmers are women.
As farms like ours that have been around for over 150 years, continue on to the next generation, it is important to continue to tell our story because the family farm doesn’t look like what it used to and that’s 1000% okay. In fact, it’s a beautiful thing!
Caring for Calves and Kids 
Leave a comment