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Farm Foundation® Conference Proceedings Inform Academic Journal Issue
OAK BROOK, Ill. (July 25, 2022) — Farm Foundation®, an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture, today shared that new research has been published in a special issue of the Agriculture Finance Review titled “Entry, Exit and Growth of Beginning Farmers and Ranchers.” Research used for the Agriculture Finance Review stemmed from a two-day conference hosted in partnership by Farm Foundation and the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) in November 2020.
The research features a variety of topics with a dedicated focus on economic challenges and opportunities experienced by new agriculture professionals. The Farm Foundation conference featured paper presentations and discussions led by researchers in academia and the government, practitioners, policy experts, farmers and ranchers. The event examined issues that hinder or facilitate the entry of beginning farmers, as well as highlighted successful programs, innovative ideas and future solutions to support new professionals in the industry.
“When we organized a research conference, we were impressed with the high level of participation and knew that we needed to play a role in giving researchers a publishing home for their work,” said Jeffery Hopkins, chief of USDA’s ERS Farm Economy Branch. “We were especially pleased with the range of submissions that treated potential barriers for beginning farmers and ranchers and are hopeful that the special issue of Agricultural Finance Review will continue to inform stakeholders across the agricultural sector and be cited by others carrying out this research.”
The new journal issue includes research and resources that can help young farmers and ranchers, as well as the industry professionals who support them. Research topics include:
- Credit constraints, survival and growth
- Land tenure and profitability
- Management and ownership transfer in small and medium family farms
- The landowner role in land access
- Exploring the adoption of technologies among the specialty crops industry
- The profitability implication of sales through local food markets
- Factors that affect entry and exit
Farm Foundation is proud to support the seminal research which inspired this issue as part of our mission to leverage the power of collaboration between food and agricultural stakeholders to advance agriculture in positive ways. The original conference content that contributed to the journal content is freely available on the Farm Foundation video archive.
While the the full issue of the Agriculture Finance Review is not publicly available, the editorial by Jeffrey W. Hopkins, Department of Farm Economy Branch, USDA Economic Research Service, can be viewed and downloaded here. Additional resources for new farmers are also available on the USDA website.