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Land access challenges grow for young farmers as USDA delays key survey results

The National Young Farmers Coalition says the delay of the USDA’s 2024 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey could impact how the next generation acquires farmland.

Vanessa Garcia Planco, director of government relations, says the survey provides important insights into farmland ownership trends across the U.S.

“It was scheduled for publication, and it was completed even before the government shutdown went into effect,” she says. “We’re worried about why they’re holding back. We need that data especially if we get a farm bill done or we get more financial assistance to help keep young farmers farming.”

She tells Brownfield it’s difficult for new and beginning to be competitive in farmland purchases.

“Land values in each state and county are so vastly different,” she says. “We need more financial tools for these farmers that would give them better loan rates and better access to buy land or rent land. We need more markets.”

Planco says the organization is calling on the Trump administration to expand access to programs designed to help young farmers through the challenges of a slumping ag economy.

AUDIO: Vanessa Garcia Planco, National Young Farmers Coalition