Pennsylvania Grows: Land Access Challenges Faced by Young Farmers in Pennsylvania and Potential Solutions
Across Pennsylvania, farming and farmland are central to the Commonwealth’s economy. By generating approximately $83.8 billion in direct economic output and $26.9 billion in earnings for farmers and others employed in agriculture-related jobs within the Commonwealth, the agricultural sector feeds Pennsylvania families while supporting thriving rural, urban, and suburban communities. (PA Dep. of Ag, 2018) The benefits of this economic engine ripple out beyond those directly engaged in agriculture, impacting local economies as well. One in every ten jobs in Pennsylvania is supported by agriculture—579,000 jobs in total.
In Pennsylvania, similar to the rest of the United States, the average age of farmers is rising.(American Farmland Trust, 2014) For every three principal farm operators in Pennsylvania over 65, there is only one under 35. (USDA Census of Agriculture, Table 52, 2019) Between 2007 and 2012 only 94 young farmers, or farmers under the age of 35, entered the profession in Pennsylvania, while the total number of farmers decreased by 2,195 in the same period. (AFT, 2014) Of the 7.3 million acres of farmland across Pennsylvania, 55% is managed by a farmer 55 years of age or older, and 11% of that land is expected to transfer in the next five years. (USDA, Table 52, 2019) (USDA, TOTAL, 2014)
Access to affordable land is a key component to the success of Pennsylvania’s next generation of farmers. Land is expensive, and out of the reach of many young farmers. Farmland prices in Pennsylvania are higher than national averages,with the price of farmland in Pennsylvania averaging $5,680 an acre, compared to a national average of $3,140 per acre. (USDA, Land Values 2018 Summary) Farm real estate values in Pennsylvania have risen 1.6% between 2017 and 2018, following an increase of 1.8% between 2016 and 2017. (USDA, Land Values 2017 Summary) Between 2007 and 2012, 34,900 acres of agricultural land in the state was converted to developed land. (AFT, Pennsylvania Statistics, 2018)
What barriers do young farmers face when starting or maintaining farms in Pennsylvania? To address this research question, we employed a mixed methods study, consisting of two parts: a survey of young farmers across the state and a series of listening sessions. For this research, young farmers are defined as individuals beginning their careers in agriculture (or in the first ten to fifteen years of their farming careers). While our research spanned a variety of concerns and challenges facing young farmers in Pennsylvania, this summary focuses on land access concerns.
Methods and description of participating farmers
To understand the challenges and concerns of young people beginning careers in agriculture, in my position as Policy Associate for The National Young Farmers Coalition (the Coalition), I, along with others, held three listening sessions across Pennsylvania in the autumn of 2018. In addition, I analyzed data from a survey the organization developed and implemented.
The three listening sessions were held in Westmoreland, Chester, and Juniata Counties, attended by a total of thirty-three young farmers. Attendees had varying degrees of farming experience—some were well into their farming careers, while others were currently working or apprenticing on farms with the goal of some day running their own operations. We heard from rural, suburban, and urban farmers using a wide range of operational structures, methods, and products, including businesses and nonprofits, organic and conventional, vegetables, livestock, row crops, and flowers. In our listening sessions, attendees were asked to discuss what was working well in their region, what challenges they were facing, and what specific changes or solutions they would like to see to address these challenges.
The Pennsylvania Young Farmer Survey more closely examined the issues with which young farmers are struggling. The method of snowball sampling was used to reach farmers, reaching out through the Coalition’s outreach network, agricultural listservs, farmer organizations across Pennsylvania, agricultural extension services, county farmland preservation offices, and others. Survey questions focused on respondents’ farming background, current work, challenges, land ownership or lease structure, access to technical assistance and helpful programs, participation in state and federal programs, and a range of other issues impacting their ability to farm.
Results
Ninety-four current farmers, former farmers, and farm apprentices/workers took the survey in October and November of 2018; because this number is well below the most recent census count of young farmers in the state (12,598), the results may not be generalized. (USDA, Census of Ag., Table 68, 2019)
Respondents were geographically diverse, covering much of the state, with a median age of 34 years old. Three quarters of respondents were currently farming, with an average of 8.5 years of experience, while others were not currently farming but had past farming experience or were aspiring to farm. A majority (62%) of respondents owned their farms, and of those who did not, more than 80% said that they would like to own their farm. Respondents produced a wide variety of products, including field crops, small grains, vegetables, fruits and nuts, flowers, dairy, poultry, beef cattle, sheep, and other livestock.
Select Key Land Access Findings:
Secure access to affordable land was the number one issue impacting respondents’ ability to farm in our survey and was a key barrier brought up at each listening session. Two central concerns about land access came up in both our listening sessions and survey: availability of affordable farmland and stability of rental agreements.
Availability of affordable farmland
During our listening sessions, farmers in Pennsylvania explained that non-agricultural development pressure was driving land prices out of reach for beginning farmers, especially near urban areas. In areas where many farms are preserved and barred from development, farmers explained that preserved farmland can still be prohibitively expensive, as farmers are competing with second home buyers and other purchasers with greater financial resources. In our survey, we asked young farmers to help us understand what specific land access challenges they were facing. Respondents indicated that they struggle to find affordable, high quality farmland available for sale or rent, because the cost of renting or buying land often exceeds what their farming operations can support.
Listening session attendees also broadly reported that markets for farmland depend on word-of-mouth networks. While these networks have been traditionally used in rural communities nationwide, they exclude farmers outside specific regions or communities, as well as socially disadvantagedfarmers such as female farmers, LGBTQ farmers, and farmers of color. Several farmers discussed the market for farmland in their region as closed to outsiders, with much of the best land sold within established farming communities rather than in a market open to all farmers.
Finally, urban farmers at our listening sessions near Philadelphia and Pittsburgh explained that legal access to vacant or abandoned land can be extremely complex. These parcels represent a powerful opportunity for urban farming and gardening activities. The City of Philadelphia estimates that there are approximately 40,000 vacant lots within its boundaries, but urban farmers in Philadelphia described the mechanisms to obtain legal access to this land as both unclear and inconsistent. (City of Philadelphia Vacant Lot Program, 2019)
Stability of rental agreements
In listening sessions, farmers renting land frequently discussed short-term or informal leases as a central concern. Young farmers also brought up that non-farming landowners and land trusts do not always understand the needs and realities of a farming operation, leading to misunderstandings that can cause tension and instability in a rental relationship. Survey results similarly reflected lease-related concerns. Only half of farmer respondents leasing land had a formal lease, and the remainder relied on unwritten “handshake deals.” One farmer wrote that they have access to the land “until [our landlord] decides she doesn’t want us to farm it anymore.” Two separate farmers wrote that their landowner would not agree to lease the land to them if a written lease was expected.
Short-term leases can impact a farmers’ ability to invest in their operations. Frequent moves between parcels can discourage farmers from capitalizing their businesses and may inhibit them from developing a strong market presence. Without a long-term lease, farmers are also unable to access critical USDA grant funding.
Recommendations
Young farmers in Pennsylvania are investing in the Commonwealth’s economy by taking risks, getting trained, and working hard to build successful farms across the Commonwealth. While barriers stand in the way of their success, they are eminently solvable. Pennsylvania has grown a vibrant agricultural and the commonwealth leads the nation in total farms and acres preserved for farming. To secure a successful future for Pennsylvania agricultural, the Commonwealth must address the challenges facing young and beginning farmers. To respond to these challenges, we recommend that Pennsylvania:
- Prioritize Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program (ACEPP) funds for working farm easements that include affordability and farmer ownership provisions, and allocate funding to retroactively place these provisions on existing easements;
- Prioritize easement projects that include a minimum of a three-year, written lease in cases where the landowner-applicant is leasing to a farmer;
- Create two young farmer member positions on the Agricultural Land Preservation Board;
- Incentivize the sale and renting of land and other agricultural assets to young and beginning farmers; and
- Increase support for Pennsylvania Farm Link.
For more information
For more detailed analysis and a comprehensive look at the entire study, see the forthcoming report, available early summer 2019 on the National Young Farmers Coalition website.
Works Cited
American Farmland Trust, Farmland Information Center, “Pennsylvania Statistics,” accessed November, 2018, https://www.farmlandinfo.org/statistics/Pennsylvania.
American Farmland Trust, Farmland Information Center, “2012 Census of Agriculture,” May 14, 2014, https://www.farmlandinfo.org/2012-census-agriculture.
City of Philadelphia Vacant Lot Program, accessed January, 2019, https://www.phila.gov/programs/vacant-lot-program/.
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, “Pennsylvania Agriculture: A Look at the Economic Impacts and Future Trends,” version 1, January 2018, https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Documents/PennsylvaniaAgriculture_EconomicImpactFutureTrends.pdf.
USDA, National Agriculture Statistics Service. “Farmland Ownership and Tenure: Results from the 2014 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land Survey,” accessed December 2018, https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/57F560EC-3807-3AE3-9491-E07C248877BB?location_desc=PENNSYLVANIA.
USDA, National Agriculture Statistics Service. Table 52. Selected Producer Characteristics: 2017 and 2012. 2017 Census of Agriculture – State Data: Pennsylvania. April 11, 2019. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Pennsylvania/st42_1_0052_0052.pdf.
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Table 68. Young Producers – Selected Producer Characteristics: 2017. 2017 Census of Agriculture – State Data: Pennsylvania, April 11, 2019. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Pennsylvania/st42_1_0068_0068.pdf
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, “Land Values 2017 Summary,” August 2017. (https://www.usda.gov/nass/PUBS/TODAYRPT/land0817.pdf)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, “Land Values 2018 Summary,” August 2018. (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/land0818.pdf)