Agriculture in Barrington is said to be reserved for the old men, for the fathers and grandfathers to whom the farms were passed down from generation to generation. Whereas other sectors have experienced extraordinary growth amidst the improving economic environment, agriculture lags in terms of its attractiveness to the younger generation of job seekers. According to the Barrington Agricultural Research and Development Institute, the average age of a farmer in the state is 56. As new and emerging sectors pop up throughout the country and greater opportunities in manufacturing, research and tech pop up throughout the state, more and more generations of individuals who ought to be young farmers are becoming increasingly removed from the family farm, thereby leading to a conundrum within the state’s agricultural sector: how could it become risk averse and prepare for a future where there might not be that many farmers? It should be noted that although there does not exist a manpower crisis within the state’s agricultural sector, predictions from BARDI point to the state’s growing uncertainty surrounding “continuity” within such an economically crucial sector. Amias Suitor, a potato farmer from Emberton lamented the lack of interest in the sector among the younger generation, pointing to the “new economy” as the source of the sector’s supposed woes. “I’ve always wanted to hand down the farm to my kids when they became of age, as my father did with me, and as did his father. But my children simply aren’t interested in the idea of running all of this,” he remarks, pointing to the vast fields of tilled soil. “They got their university education and bolted at the first opportunity to leave the state to Newchester and Millford. It’s that damn “New Economy” those politicians keep talking about that’s making life harder for everyone.”
Although he notes that he did not share the sentiments of Mr Suitor, Barrington’s Secretary for Agriculture Ryan Booth stated that the broad disinterest in the state’s agricultural sector among the younger generations could ultimately be chalked up to the sector’s inability to adapt/modernise and major barriers to entry. Speaking at a farming equipment expo in Roxborough, Secretary Booth stated that whilst other sectors throughout the state, namely light manufacturing, research & development and energy continue to modernise and integrate themselves with emerging technologies, the state’s agriculture sector has been largely resistant to the sweeping technological advancements which have and could improve the very nature of agriculture/agribusiness in the state for centuries to come. “In all these sectors, young people are racing at the opportunity to develop the next app or to engineer the next machine which could an existing process all the easier. Yet for all its worth, the agricultural sector within this state has been largely resistant to these moves. Why? Because of an innate suspicion of technology. It is no secret that people are naturally afraid of technology and its advancement, as it usually signals the beginning of waves of redundancies, as otherwise analogue processes involving a sizeable amount of manpower are ultimately digitised and/or automated.” He noted that to maintain its relevance and improve efficiency, the state’s agricultural sector must embrace digitization and emerging technological solutions. “It is for this reason, that we created BARDI and the BADB; to ensure that agriculture remains at the forefront of most, if not all technological advancements in the state.” On barriers to entry he noted that, according to surveys and focus groups, one of the major hindrances to young persons entering agriculture is a lack of agricultural land. In many instances, young persons possess little to no physical assets, let alone access to agricultural land to become farmers; thus those who were birthed into “farming families” are considered among the lucky few.
In forming a larger policy to address the aforementioned challenges, Secretary Booth stated that the state’s Department of Agriculture held initial discussions with the University of Barrington in developing training courses which could aid new farmers in building their knowledge of sustainable farm practices with the hopes that it could eventually lend itself to the sector becoming more attractive. Beyond this, he noted that although it was on the table for discussion, both his department and the State’s Attorney-General would likely have a series of discussions with farming associations throughout the state in gauging the sector’s opinion of redistributing inactive agricultural land to young persons eager to enter the sector. He noted that there were multiple instances within the state where farmers maintained vast acres of land which were largely unused because they could never fully cultivate the land owing to in itself, a lack of manpower and financing. He noted that whilst the policy proposal is likely to be extremely controversial, it could lead to a revolution of young farmers in the state establishing homesteads on redistributed agricultural land. The Commissioner of State Lands via a press release noted that it has already begun discussions with key stakeholders regarding the process which could potentially see land held by the state be redistributed via a homestead programme to encourage young farmers into the sector.