Farming Challenges Today

Today’s farmers are facing challenges very different from farmers even 20 years ago due to farming practices, climate changes and land use changes.

With consumer demands, population growth and decreasing subsidies precision farming and organic farming are becoming more predominant in farming practices. As consumers become more aware of the dangers and effects of chemicals used in food growth, there is an increase in demand from consumers for the availability of foods grown free of chemicals forcing farmers to look to organic methods of production. Farmers producing in a more “green” environment can receive more farming subsidies from the government. With population growth around the world farmers are under more pressure than ever to increase production with more efficiency. With the increase in urbanization the availability of land for farming has decreased also forcing farmers to produce more crops with less land. Climate change is now and will in the future play a very important role in farm production. As population grows, temperatures grow warmer and water tables around the world fall simultaneously, there is an ever growing concern that water consumption is outpacing what nature can provide to continue on our current path. As the water tables continue to fall rivers, lakes and streams will literally dry up.

Fewer young people are farming leaving a future void of people with the skill and knowledge to farm. Many young farmers have stated the increase in urbanization, government regulations and the cost and availability of health care top the list behind the availability of land and farming facilities as major challenges.

With the use of precision farming, balancing our use of resources and the ecosystem and changing technology farmers are producing more yields than ever. With continued research and advancements in technology farmers will continue to increase yields with less resource consumption.