Farmers don’t have it easy. There are significant hurdles to overcome for young farmers trying to produce sustainable food on traditional farms. There is a surging movement of young farmers trying to bring apprenticeships, local partnerships, and community supported agriculture (CSA) to the masses by proposing changes to the 2012 Farm Bill.
Across the U.S., young people are heeding the call for a more just, sustainable, and healthy food system, and are heading to the fields to build it themselves. They are working on farms and starting their own small-scale farm businesses from scratch. But, as the National Young Farmers’ Coalition recently revealed, there are big obstacles getting in the way of these green entrepreneurs — and the change eaters want to see on their grocery store shelves. Last month, the Coalition released the results of a needs survey of 1,000 young and beginning farmers from across the nation. They also made recommendations for anyone looking to help these farmers succeed. Chief among these recommendations is a set of proposed laws, which would go into effect under the 2012 Farm Bill, called the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2011 [PDF].
Read more at Grist.org. Don’t forget that every dollar you spend on sustainable, local food shows your support for a more ecologically and economically viable food system!