(The Center Square) – The University of Missouri received a $676,784 grant to help people become farmers and ranchers in the metropolitan St. Louis region.
The three-year award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture is one of 45 grants totaling $27.9 million. The funds will teach and train beginning farmers and ranchers. Many programs will focus on veterans entering agriculture as a career and starting new farming businesses.
Approximately one-third of the 3.4 million farmers in the nation are over age 65, according to USDA data. The goal of the department’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program is to support education, mentoring and provide technical assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers.
“Beginners” are defined as those who haven’t operated a farm or ranch, or not operated a farm or ranch for more than 10 years. The program provides professional development in capital management, acquiring and managing land, and learning business and farming practices.
“These funds provide meaningful support to a rising group of farmers and ranchers – including military veterans – interested in starting new careers after their service,” Karen Funkenbusch, a health and safety specialist with the University of Missouri Extension, said in a statement. “It will help them cultivate the skills needed to be productive, profitable and resilient.”
A Red Circle, a nonprofit organization based in St. Louis, will work with the university to offer education, outreach and one-on-one technical assistance as part of the grant, according to a university’s media release. The organization was started in 2017 with a focus on investing resources in North St. Louis County.
The average age of a beginning farmer was 46 in 2017, and 26% of beginning farmers were under age 35, according to the USDA.
The USDA’s 2017 Census of Agriculture for St. Louis County, the last one available, reported 184 farms – with 91% owned by families – and 45,835 acres of farmland. Approximately 32% of farmers were age 65 and older and 58% were between the ages of 35 and 64.
“Ensuring there will be a new generation of beginning farmers and ranchers, regardless of age or production choice, is essential to the continuation of agricultural production in the United States,” Funkenbusch said.
The total net cash farm income was $2.5 million and the average net cash income per farm was $13,300 in St. Louis County in 2017, according to the USDA. Approximately 67% of the farms were between one and 49 acres.
Workshops, mentoring and tours of farming operations for more than 80 program participants will be provided by Lincoln University’s Innovative Small Farmers Outreach Program, the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture, the USDA St. Louis Urban Hub and the Extension’s Farmer Advisory Committee.
