"I call it a virus. There's no vaccine for it. There's nothing you can do about it. If you happen to have caught the virus at some point in your life, then you are bound to be a rancher."

What's your response to his suggestion?

Lab-grown eggs are here and they're already on the shelves

Every conversation about American farming & ranching lands on the same question: Who’s going to do this when the current generation is done? It’s a fair question. The USDA counted 2.1 million farms and ranches a decade ago and about 1.8 million today, and the average American farmer is 58 years old. There are more farmers over 75 than under 35, which is why most people assume the answer is 'nobody'. But both things are true at once. Yes, we’re losing farms faster than new ones get started, but at the same time, more people are starting them than they were five years ago. The last ag census counted more than a million American producers who’ve been farming for ten years or less. Their average age is 47, that group grew by 11% in five years, and more than 241,000 of them are under 35. That signals that younger people are walking into this lifestyle on purpose. So, the answer isn’t nobody. The next generation is already here, and whether they get to stay depends on families choosing to buy what they raise. Happy National Farmers Day to the generation handing it off and the generation that’s ready to get to work.