{"id":12098,"date":"2018-12-12t15:23:14","date_gmt":"2018-12-12t15:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/planting-the-seeds-of-tomorrow-getting-youth-into-ag\/"},"modified":"2023-02-28t18:36:22","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28t18:36:22","slug":"youth-agriculture-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/youth-agriculture-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"planting the seeds of tomorrow: getting youth into ag"},"content":{"rendered":"
what does it mean for the future of our world food supply when the average age of farmers is bordering on 60<\/a>? perhaps more importantly, with 42% of our population considered youth<\/a>, why aren’t more young people joining the ag industry? it was a topic greatly discussed during the un-fao committee on world food security meeting in october.<\/p>\n agriculture is a field with historic relevance leading back to the early hunter-gatherer societies of humanity. during these times, it was a cultural expectation that everyone had a role in maintaining the land. traditionally, men would embody the role of the hunter, while women maintained the agricultural land as the gatherer<\/a>. although having different roles, commonality was met with the expectation that all youth would continue the tradition and become the agricultural leaders needed to ensure the survival of their society. a tradition that has since diminished in the majority of society, as generational farmers continue to exist, but their children are becoming less likely to carry-on the family legacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n the idea that young people think that farming is not cool, the desire of youth to live in thriving cities, or that farming is hard physical work that young people today don\u2019t desire; are some but not the main points of why youth are not interested in farming. additionally, yes, though job security and our society’s push toward medical, technological, and engineering careers are a greater cause for this generational divide; i believe that the answer to this question is rooted in a greater issue: knowledge.<\/p>\n with our world globalizing at a pace faster than ever before, information is at its optimal point of accessibility in today’s society. it is in this society where the media focuses on trending topics where agriculture is lost among the millions of strands of information accessible by a click of a button. without this knowledge, the mundane traditional perceptions of farming will continue to spread, as the field continues to diminish, while youth continue to believe that there is not a place for them in agriculture. however, what if i told you that this was just not true; and that in fact the agriculture field is a place of opportunity for youth and older generations alike? here are three debunked misconceptions about youth in agriculture.<\/p>\n