Less and less young people are willing to regard farm business as their future career and more than one-third of farmers nationwide are 65 years old or older, according to a recent survey.

Kevin Moore, an associate professor of agricultural economics, tries to help young farmers succeed in his class, “Returning to the Farm.”

Moore said he thinks the risk and uncertainty of farming is what makes young people hesitant to pursue farming as a career.

“The land value is extremely high, the salary is low, and the working hour on the farms is long for young students once they graduate,” Moore said. “It is more attractive to not return to the farm.”

Michael Burden, a senior information specialist of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, said there are several reasons for the results of the survey.

“One of the barriers is that in terms of large-scale farming, it is tough to get into the market,” Burden said. “If you compete with someone with thousands of acres, or if you don’t have a family member here to have land from, it is quite difficult to crack into the market place for young people.”

Moore’s class began in the late 1980s.

“There was a sharp decline in land values and large unbalance in the equity in the financial position of farms at that time,” Moore said. “It was a really difficult time, and there were a lot of farm bankruptcies and suicides. Children in MU were thinking about whether they needed go back to the farms when time is so difficult, so we started this class.”

Instead of a regular class, this course works as an extension effort, in which teachers look at all the feasibility and the financial planning of the farm business with students.

Moore said the class consists of three components, and students can sign up for one, two or three credit hours. The first credit hour focuses on business management skills. In the second credit hour students attend a weekend workshop where they learn about succession planning. For the third credit, students develop a written business plan.

Considering the key factors that are significant to students’ success in the farm business, Burden emphasized there are more than one requirement students should meet if they want to succeed.

“Farmers have to know the kind of crops they grow and the marketplaces in local, national and international areas,” Burden said. “Also, they really need to understand marketing and how (the) market can change and how they can be flexible enough to take the advantage of the changes of the market places.”

Moore said the course can give students an advantage in the farming business. However, Moore stresses individual drive is important for success in agriculture.

“Determination is the most important factor for students’ success in farming business,” Moore said. “The building of the set of skills like the business management and financial management skills is quite critical, because it is really an expensive endeavor.”