Farming for a Future

The next generation of farming.

Miranda Neville, Agricultural Resource Specialist, BCCD 
Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hosting a station at Green Career Day, sponsored by the Bradford County Conservation District, as a BCCD Agriculture Team member but also as a dairy farmer. I remember career days in elementary school (in my very small hometown). We usually had veterinarians, postal workers, bankers, police officers, but even as a “farm-oriented kid” I don’t ever remember seeing a farmer. The number of farms has declined drastically even in the last decade. That means that the number of ‘farm kids’ who are already built with the dream to take over the family farm has also decreased. Reaching more youth to teach them about farming and agriculture is key in creating the next wave of farm kids. So, how do we ensure the future of agriculture, if the younger generations don’t realize the potential it has?

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Maybe getting a dairy farmer to participate 25 years ago wasn’t as popular because it was a career filled with ‘hard work for no pay’ to the most extreme extent.  Honestly, if there were any dairy farmers present, it would have been quite surprising, as the national average milk price in 2000 was $9.74-$13.74 per hundred weight, vs. 2024 $20.40-$21.95cwt (depending on the report/region/class of milk). Milk prices that dairy farmers were receiving were the same in the early 2000’s as they were in the 1970’s, while the cost of every other input has substantially increased. It would be a hard sell to a child aspiring for a “rich” future, when there was no profit to be made.

I am not an ideal candidate to speak at such events. I don’t have good composure, my public speaking skills are lacking (sorry to my former FFA advisors who relentlessly coached me in public speaking), and I will always question “Isn’t there someone else who is better suited?”. The one thing I was confident in, while speaking to students, was my passion for farming and agriculture. I was excited to talk to them about our cows, tractors, crops and busy lifestyle. I tried to relay the message that even though we are not monetarily rich- farmers are rich in other ways. Of course, these were 8th grade students so talking about raising our children on the dairy wasn’t really the biggest selling point, but I tried to talk about things they already know. Technology. The innovations in farming – drones, autonomous tractors, robotic labor systems, Ai-though as a farmer Ai means something totally different, etc. Farming is still labor intensive regardless of the automation, but we have to educate all sides of farming to make it an exciting aspiration.

Even though it was Green Career Day, with an emphasis on conservation and agriculture, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of students who had experience with livestock or crop farming. Though I’m sure my model dairy barn, toy tractors, and feed samples paled in comparison to some of the more lucrative professions represented, I managed to find a small group who were really excited to share their stories from 4H and FFA and their hopes to continue in agriculture in the future.

As farmers, even though we may not like to get out of the barn or tractors much, if you have the opportunity to speak at a career day or anything regarding youth, bring the passion you have for your job and share that. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to share the work we do at the BCCD and marry that with my life in dairy farming. Farming, dairy especially, can be a difficult career path to support, but educating the next generation – I strongly think there’s hope for the future. 
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The Bradford County Conservation District is committed to helping people manage resources wisely.  You can visit the Bradford County Conservation District at 200 Lake Rd in Wysox across from the Wysox Fire Hall. Contact us at (570) 485-3144 or visit our web page at www.bccdpa.com.