California Center for Cooperative Development Cooperative Facilitator and Seed Farmer Mai Nguyen. Photo credit: Lance Cheung, USDA.
The Next Generation in Agriculture Act, introduced on April 26, 2018 by Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Susan Collins (R-ME), will address our nation’s looming shortage of farmers and ranchers by connecting retiring and aspiring producers and helping to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, skills, and resources. American farmers and ranchers are increasingly aging out of agriculture, and many of them will reach retirement without a succession plan in place for their operations. This problem is not from a lack of interest from the next potential generation of producers, rather, it is fueled by both a serious lack of resources that would help beginning farmers to start successful businesses and a lack of intergenerational facilitation by the federal government.
The Next Generation in Agriculture Act will break down barriers to entry for aspiring farmers and ranchers and help to ensure the ongoing success of existing farm operations by connecting retiring producers with potential successors. Specifically, this bill will
NSAC is proud to endorse this legislation, and strongly supports its inclusion in the 2018 Farm Bill. Many of the proposals included in this bill are also included in the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act (H.R.4316), which was introduced in the House last fall and also endorsed by NSAC.
Other organizations endorsing this bill include the National Young Farmers Coalition and Future Farmers of America.