When it’s tough to find a job or you’re limited to part time employment, plus up to your eyeballs in student loan debt, it would seem logical that you don”t have much of a choice but to grow your own food and hope you can turn a profit selling to the locovores.
Now, Mr. Jones, 30, and his wife, Alicia, 27, are among an emerging group of people in their 20s and 30s who have chosen farming as a career.
People want to connect more than they can at their grocery store,” Ms. Jones said. “We had a couple who came down from Portland and asked if they could collect their own eggs. We said, ‘O.K., sure.’ They want to trust their producer, because there’s so little trust in food these days.”
Garry Stephenson, coordinator of the Small Farms Program at Oregon State University, said he had not seen so much interest among young people in decades. “It’s kind of exciting,” Mr. Stephenson said. “They’re young, they’re energetic and idealist, and they’re willing to make the sacrifices.”
I’m a little biased because I have a background in genetic engineering and I grow many of my own fruits and veggies, but even though it’s sad that younger generations can’t find adequate full time employment, it’s a positive sign that some are taking the initiative by creating multiple income streams or perhaps even making a living as a farmer.
When given lemons… make lemonade… so they say.
Source
New York Times
ISOLDE RAFTERY
In New Food Culture, a Young Generation of Farmers Emerges
