THE FUTURE OF U.S. AGRICULTURE DEPENDS ON THE ABILITY OF NEW GENERATIONS TO ESTABLISH
SUCCESSFUL FARMS AND RANCHES.
AS ADVERTISERS FOR SOME OF THE LARGEST NAMES IN THE INDUSTRY, WE NEED TO KNOW…
1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most efficient food production system in the world?
AS ADVERTISERS FOR SOME OF THE LARGEST NAMES IN THE INDUSTRY, WE NEED TO KNOW…
1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most 2. How are they different then the generation that came before them?
AS ADVERTISERS FOR SOME OF THE LARGEST NAMES IN THE INDUSTRY, WE NEED TO KNOW…
1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most 3. What influences their decisions and values?
AS ADVERTISERS FOR SOME OF THE LARGEST NAMES IN THE INDUSTRY, WE NEED TO KNOW…
1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most 4. What are the best ways to reach them with your message?
AS ADVERTISERS FOR SOME OF THE LARGEST NAMES IN THE INDUSTRY, WE NEED TO KNOW…
1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most 5. What does the future of American agriculture look like?
AS ADVERTISERS FOR SOME OF THE LARGEST NAMES IN THE INDUSTRY, WE NEED TO KNOW…
1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most Here’s the sitch…
AVERAGE AGE: 35 YEARS OLD METHODS: QUALITATIVE: 6 INTERVIEWS
SURV
EY D
EMOG
RAPH
ICS
QUANTITATIVE: 78 EMAIL SURVEY RESPONDENTS
SURV
EY D
EMOG
RAPH
ICS
AVERAGE ACRES:2,075
DAIRY COWS:12%
CORN:93%
PORK:20%
SOYBEANS:81%
WHEAT:31%
FEMALE RESPONDENTS: 5%
MALERESPONDENTS: 95%
BEEF CATTLE:47%
ALFALFA: 55%
“Straight out of college I was farming full time with my dad. And then in the past year and a half, I’ve been working
off-farm as well as farming with my dad. Hopefully I can come back to the
farm full time. That’s my end goal. Don’t know if that will happen yet or not.”
HOW
THE
Y GO
T IN
TO F
ARM
ING
HOW
THE
Y GO
T IN
TO F
ARM
ING
of farms 1000 acres+ are takenover from a family member
90% More than
“I do enjoy my job, it just is definitely challenging when you’re working full
time and trying to farm, too.”
PRIM
ARY/
SECO
NDAR
Y JO
B
PRIM
ARY/
SECO
NDAR
Y JO
B83% OF ROW-CROP FARMERS ARE FULL-TIME
42% OF SMALLER FARMERS ARE PART-TIME
“I guess I like to be busy, and I like to see
results. So when the amount of time I invest
in getting the hay put up right, or getting
the cows pregnant when they’re supposed
to, and getting the calves right so they have
good weaning weights – those are the
kinds of things that make me happy.”
QUAL
ITY
OF L
IFE
“Even though it’s hard work, I’m enjoying myself while doing it. Yeah, there’s time
when you’re up in the middle of the night, pulling a calf, and you need to be at work at 4:30 in the morning, it’s not necessarily enjoyable, but there’s still that new baby calf that’s born alive. You get that sense of fulfillment. Even though you didn’t get
much sleep, it’s definitely enjoyable.”
QUAL
ITY
OF L
IFE
“I used to make more money before I started working on the farm, but I now have more family time. I can
take vacations in the winter. You can have a better lifestyle on the farm.”
QUAL
ITY
OF L
IFE
QUAL
ITY
OF L
IFE
HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE YOUR LIFE AS A FARMER TO HOW IT WOULD BE IF YOU HAD LEFT THE FARM?
“[My wife] is very involved in all the decision making. She likes to pick out bulls that we use – we artificially inseminate all
the cows. She helps with the record keeping. She does the feeding if I can’t.
The kids are involved, even though they’re young, they like to go to the farm.”
SPOU
SE’S
ROL
E IN
FAR
MIN
G OP
ERAT
ION
SPOUSES ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE INVOLVED ON LIVESTOCK FARMS VS. CROP FARMS
SPOUSAL INVOLVEMENT50/50IN GENERAL…
SPOU
SE’S
ROL
E IN
FAR
MIN
G OP
ERAT
ION
SPOU
SE’S
ROL
E IN
FAR
MIN
G OP
ERAT
ION ON SMALLER FARMS,
SPOUSES ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE INVOLVED IN DECISION MAKING.
ON LARGER FARMS, SPOUSES ARE MORE LIKELY TO WORK OFF THE FARM.
“[We make decisions] Together. [My dad] obviously has the final say, but you know, he’s more the idea, he comes up with the ideas, here’s what I want, he
gets the ball rolling. I do all the research and get as much information
about what he’s thinking, whatever different options I think I can come up with, and then we discuss it and then kind of make a decision from there."
DECI
SION
MAK
ING
OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY ARE ALREADY THE PRIMARY DECISION MAKER FOR THEIR FARMING OPERATION2/3
DECI
SION
MAK
ING
THE MAJORITY ARE ALREADY MAKING EVERYDAY OPERATIONAL DECISIONS, PARTICULARLY CROP DECISIONS AND TECHNOLOGY
DECI
SION
MAK
ING
MILLENNIAL FARMERS ARE EXPERIENCED, EDUCATED BUSINESS OPERATORS.
of farmers worked off the farmprior to working on the farm
SKIL
LS
68.4%
67.2%have at least a college degree 35-44 year olds of the general
population have a Bachelor’s Degree
33%
“My father has a lot of experience, but maybe isn’t so inclined to adopt some of
the newer technologies. It sometimes takes some convincing to explain the
benefits and how it can help improve the breakeven point now and in the future.”
MIL
LENN
IALS
VS.
OLD
ER G
ENER
ATIO
N
“I’m more likely to use technology such as variable rate and precision planting. I also do more of my
own research on my farm such as population plots and experimenting with fertilizer and foliar feeds.”
MIL
LENN
IALS
VS.
OLD
ER G
ENER
ATIO
NMORE ACCEPTING OF NEW TECHNOLOGY
38%
What is the biggest difference in your approach to farming compared to an older farming partner?
“Younger generation is overall more open to change and innovation. We have always looked and paired
with universities for research, however, younger generation is more likely to go with recommendations whereas the older generation is slightly more resistant
to changes based on previous experiences.”
MIL
LENN
IALS
VS.
OLD
ER G
ENER
ATIO
NMORE WILLING TO CHANGE PRACTICES
21%
What is the biggest difference in your approach to farming compared to an older farming partner?
“The biggest difference is that I plan and my dad sits back and sees what happens.”
MIL
LENN
IALS
VS.
OLD
ER G
ENER
ATIO
NMORE AMBITIOUS
13%
What is the biggest difference in your approach to farming compared to an older farming partner?
COMPARED TO AN OLDER FARMER, ARE YOU MORE, LESS OR EQUALLY LIKELY TO DO THE FOLLOWING?
MIL
LENN
IALS
VS.
OLD
ER G
ENER
ATIO
N
MIL
LENN
IALS
VS.
OLD
ER G
ENER
ATIO
NCOMPARED TO AN OLDER FARMER, ARE YOU MORE, LESS OR ABOUT THE SAME WHEN IT COMES TO BEING…
“All the information that is presented at trade shows, you can get online. The information on the company, product,
service is all out there without having to drive a hundred miles to go to a show.”
INTE
RNET
“I sign up for AgWeb Daily, things like that come up on my phone every day. Get those types of
posts and then I just read through them.”
SMAR
T PH
ONE
“There’s all these different forums where you can see what people are saying
about certain products or topics. I mean, there’s just a wealth of knowledge.”
AG F
ORUM
S
“A video of a product – if I can watch a video of how something works and totally understand it,
then I’m more likely to purchase it.”
YOUT
UBE
“I use YouTube a lot. You can see videos of the product/equipment
working, you can get testimonials and see actual farmers using it on their farm without ever having to go anywhere. It’s a fast way to do research on something
to see if it is viable for you.”
YOUT
UBE
“Most important that companies develop the 1-on-1 relationship with
farmers. It’s still important for our dealers and seed reps, chemical reps spend time with our family. It’s not just
a farmer, but a family relationship.”
PERS
ONAL
REL
ATIO
NSHI
PS
Millennial farmers use their own experiences to make purchasing decisions, supplemented with the internet
TAKEAWAYS
Think of millennial farmers not just as farmers, but instead, business people in the business of farming
These farmers are in their formative years for developing relationships
Tests, trials, and samples are ways to convince and convert
Priorities hint at future reliance on others in areas of data, technology and field operations
Millennial farmers are already the decision makers on their operation
Show them (with video), don’t just tell them