07/08/2024

Farming is Facing a Three-pronged Existential Crisis

New pressures on agriculture have shifted the focus for farms and farmers

Farming has become an extremely precarious business. Without many previously critical subsidies, margins have become slimmer or nonexistent. Climate change has made drought and flooding more common, threatening several crop harvests. And a globalized economy has created regional conflicts that cause widespread impacts on costs and supply.

As agriculture transforms and farmers change the way they work, the struggle to adapt to this rapidly changing climate is being felt far and wide. 

"We're an intergenerational farm," said Harold Wilken, a fourth-generation grain farmer located outside of Chicago. "When I was a conventional farmer, the margins were so small, and I knew there was no way that my son or my nephew could farm with me. By moving away from conventional methods, it gave us the opportunity to have more income to bring in the next generation."

Please select this link to read the complete article from Agriculture Dive.