As a hobby Fannie Merritt Farmer , your worries are n’t limited to aphids , goat bloat and the toll of fuel . Whether you have a rest home on the reach or a few Akka in the suburbs , you ’re likely also concerned about issues that threaten your rural lifestyle .
March 11 mark the commencement of National Agriculture Week . Here are the top five rural - development concerns for hobby farmers and what ’s being done to address them .
1 . Rural Food DesertsAsrural populations dwindleso have the number of supermarkets in agriculture communities , creating rural food deserts .
According to the USDA , more than 3.6 million multitude live in rural solid food comeupance , or expanse where admission to fresh , good for you , affordable foods is more than 10 miles away . In its Food Desert Map , the USDA ’s Economic Research Service shows that 26 percent of U.S. food desert piece of land are rural .
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service launch theKnow Your Farmer , Know Your Foodprogram in 2009 to fund projects and interventions that improve memory access to fresh , healthy food in nutrient desert . The Center for Rural Affairs is also increase awareness about food deserts and implementing strategy tosave minor - town grocery stores .
2 . FrackingThe shock of hydraulic fracturing ( aka fracking ) , a process of interpose water system and chemical substance into mystifying wells to pull up innate gas , weighs heavily on farmers ’ minds .
Fracking has been blamed for contaminate groundwater and causing procreative and neurologic problems in stock . investigator from Cornell University released a composition , “ impact of Gas Drilling on Human and Animal Health , ” in January 2012 linking fracking with sudden death in cattle .
food for thought and Water Watch , a non-profit-making organization promote sustainable food , fish and water , list severalregional action against frackingThe National Farmers Union in Canada yell for amoratorium on frackingin February 2012 . To date , the National Farmers Union in the U.S. has not address the issue of fracking .
3 . Farmland PreservationAmerican Farmland Trust , a non-profit-making aimed at protecting farm and cattle farm land , reports that 1 acre of agricultural land is lose to exploitation every moment .
To protect vanish ploughland , American Farmland Trust promotes environmentally sound farming practice session and educates the public about the importance of supporting local farmers . The organization also lobby for insurance changes to protect farmland , including theFederal Farmland Protection Policy Act , which was introduced as part of the Farm Bill in 1981 as the first Union law to call the red ink of agricultural ground to nonfarm exploitation .
The Federal Farmland Protection Policy Act minimizes the extent to which Union projection , like aerodrome , dam and highways , contribute to the departure of tilth , but does n’t address the encroachment of private developer .
Several states , including Illinois , Washington and Connecticut , have also enact farmland - conservation curriculum .
4 . financing for New FarmersWith the USDA ’s estimate that 500,000 sodbuster are expected to retire in the next 20 years , the future of U.S. agribusiness is threatened . New farmersare eager to take the reins but face significant stumbling blocks to starting a farm .
A whopping 78 percent of youthful farmers summons lack of capital as the biggest challenge face up beginning farmers , harmonize to “ Building a futurity With Fannie Merritt Farmer : challenge Faced by Young , American Farmers and a National Strategy to Help Them come after , ” a study issued by the National Young Farmers ’ Coalition .
The majority of farmers under age 30 who were follow rented tillage because farm ownership was out of reach .
The USDA ’s Farm Service Agency offers loans to start farmers , but according to NYFC , it can take up to a year to receive investment company and loanword limits of $ 300,000 are often too scummy to purchase farmland in many markets .
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is advance theBeginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act — included in the2012 Farm Bill — to improve access to dry land , credit and crop insurance for new Farmer and provide the training and mentoring they need to be successful .
5 . Leontyne Price of FarmlandIn 2011 , farm equipment manufacturerCase IH survey farmersabout the leading issues impacting their operation and found that almost 25 pct of respondents cite the availableness and terms of ground for elaboration as a top fear .
Prices for state in O’Brien County , Iowa , reached $ 7,148 per acre , up 16.2 percent from 2009 , agree to an annual survey conducted byIowa State University Extension . In fact , the fair value of an Akka of farmland in Iowa increased 15.9 percent in 2010 , following a vogue of in high spirits price across the Midwest .
A March 2011 article in theNew York Timesattributed record real - estate Price for farmland to high prices for crop , like corn and wheat , pushing up farming value and broken interest group rate draw investor .
Across the U.S. , establishment like American Farmland Trust have spearhead regional efforts , such as purchase preservation easements and expanding farm leasing chance , to make tillage more low-priced and help farmers expand live enterprises .
