Community with promise?

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Community with promise?

By Holly Martin

What are the most important things to a young agricultural producer making his or her way back to the farm or ranch?

The answers might suprise you.

I recently participated in a program called "Keeping the Family Farming," facilitated by K-State Reseach and Extension. My family is in the midst of a transition from one generation to the next. From my perspective, it seems to be going well, and we would like to keep it that way. Hence, all the stakeholders attended the workshop.

During one of the sessions, all those who will be taking over the farm were asked what they need to make the transition successful. There were things you might expect: access to capital, transfer of decision making, transfer of ownership and they said they even need a little luck.

But what struck me, were the things they needed regarding the community they were choosing to move back to.

They needed a supportive community. Good schools are important. Access to good health care is essential. Career opportunities for their spouses ranked high.

In essence, they need their home communties to be as progressive as they are planning to be on their farms. Can you say that about your community?

If I had to guess, living in a rural community is one of the biggest reasons most of them are choosing to move back to the farm. They can offer small class sizes for their children. They offer a sense of community to the entire family.

But they don't have a Starbucks, shopping mall or eight-plex movie theatre. And that's a sacrifice most farm families are willing to make--they just won't sacrifice everything.

Look around your community. What can you do to make it an attractive place to live? Do you have access to high-speed Internet? Do you have a medical clinic? Does your school offer career classes (either via a network or in person)? Are current community members re-investing in businesses? Is there a nice city park, walking path or fitness center? Do you have a swimming pool, sports recreation teams or community center?

It is more important than ever that we attract the best and the brightest back to the farm. But as those young people make their decisions, it is becoming even more important that they are moving back to a community with promise. Rural communities can no longer rest on the benefits they have always had. They must be proactive, progressive and engaging. If they are, finding the next generation's farmers and business owners will take care of itself.

Holly Martin can be reached by phone at 1-800-452-7171 ext. 1806 or e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com.