DANVILLE, Georgia — This month, the United States Department of Agriculture released their census that showed the average age of farmers in Georgia has risen to 59 years old. And at the same time, the number of farms across the U.S. is also shrinking, the census said.
David Hall is a Danville farmer who knows all about that.
"This farm here, that's been here since 1945. My great grandaddy moved in here, and my grandaddy farmed it, and it's just been passed down through the generations," Hall said.
Hall Farms grew and expanded over the years, but not without difficulties.
"The hard work, the hard hours, the losing the baby calf," Hall said.
Farming is a big risk, he said. But he doesn't do it for the pay; he does it for the passion.
"There's a lot of things that teach you life lessons on a farm that no college- there's nothing outside of a farm that can teach you how to deal with life better than farming," Hall said.
Raymond Joyce with the Laurens County University of Georgia Extension said we need more younger farmers in the state, and we need them now.
"That is a concern across the agriculture industry is that we are having a lot of our older farmers retiring from farming," Joyce said.
Hall said that could be detrimental to farms like his.
"So what happens if there's no one there to keep a small farm like our farm going, what happens is it either gets rented out or it gets put in pine trees, or something of that nature," Hall said.
Joyce said the impacts would affect just about everybody.
"We do not want to be dependent on another country for our food. We eat the best food of any country, the cheapest food, and then we have the best supply of food," Joyce said.
Hall was mentored and guided by his grandfather, and he recommends the next generation that wants to farm, also start with a mentorship.
"There are farmers everywhere that I feel like would take a young person that is willing to want to work," Hall said.
He said new farmers need to remember it's not an overnight process to success.
"You don't have to have a 10,000-acre farm. Take what you have, grow it," Hall said.
And he said, it's important to take less risks by diversifying your crops.
But the biggest thing he said to keep in mind if you want to go into farming, is the toll it can take on your family because farming takes a lot of time.
"Acquire a love or a relationship with a very, very, very understanding wife. Because she puts up with a lot and I'll give a big gigantic thanks to my wife for putting up with me for 29 years," Hall said.
The census report put out by the USDA said 95% of the farms in the U.S. are family owned and operated like the Hall Farms.