millennials in agriculture research presentation

MILLENNIALS IN AGRICULTUREPREPARED BY LESSING-FLYNN AND MILLENNIUM RESEARCH INC.

THE FUTURE OF U.S. AGRICULTURE DEPENDS ON THE ABILITY OF NEW GENERATIONS TO ESTABLISH

SUCCESSFUL FARMS AND RANCHES.

OVEROF FARMLAND WILL70% CHANGE HANDS BY

2020FARMLASTS 2010: http://www.uvm.edu/farmlasts/

ACCORDING TO THE 2012 USDA CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE…

SO THE BOTTOM LINE IS…

AS ADVERTISERS FOR SOME OF THE LARGEST NAMES IN THE INDUSTRY, WE NEED TO KNOW…

1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most efficient food production system in the world?


1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most 2. How are they different then the generation that came before them?


1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most 3. What influences their decisions and values?


1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most 4. What are the best ways to reach them with your message?


1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most 5. What does the future of American agriculture look like?


1. Who are the young farmers that will take over the most Here’s the sitch…

AVERAGE AGE: 35 YEARS OLD METHODS: QUALITATIVE: 6 INTERVIEWS

SURV

EY D

EMOG

RAPH

ICS

QUANTITATIVE: 78 EMAIL SURVEY RESPONDENTS

SURV

EY D

EMOG

RAPH

ICS

AVERAGE ACRES:2,075

DAIRY COWS:12%

CORN:93%

PORK:20%

SOYBEANS:81%

WHEAT:31%

FEMALE RESPONDENTS: 5%

MALERESPONDENTS: 95%

BEEF CATTLE:47%

ALFALFA: 55%

SURV

EY D

EMOG

RAPH

ICS

MILLENNIAL FARMER #1

CODY

SURV

EY D

EMOG

RAPH

ICS

MILLENNIAL FARMER #2

TYLER

HOW THEY GOT INTO FARMING

“Straight out of college I was farming full time with my dad. And then in the past year and a half, I’ve been working

off-farm as well as farming with my dad. Hopefully I can come back to the

farm full time. That’s my end goal. Don’t know if that will happen yet or not.”

HOW

THE

Y GO

T IN

TO F

ARM

ING

HOW

THE

Y GO

T IN

TO F

ARM

ING

of farms 1000 acres+ are takenover from a family member

90% More than

PRIMARY/SECONDARY JOB

“I do enjoy my job, it just is definitely challenging when you’re working full

time and trying to farm, too.”

PRIM

ARY/

SECO

NDAR

Y JO

B

PRIM

ARY/

SECO

NDAR

Y JO

B83% OF ROW-CROP FARMERS ARE FULL-TIME

42% OF SMALLER FARMERS ARE PART-TIME

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR YOUR FUTURE IN AGRICULTURE?

PRIM

ARY/

SECO

NDAR

Y JO

B

QUALITY OF LIFE

“I guess I like to be busy, and I like to see

results. So when the amount of time I invest

in getting the hay put up right, or getting

the cows pregnant when they’re supposed

to, and getting the calves right so they have

good weaning weights – those are the

kinds of things that make me happy.”

QUAL

ITY

OF L

IFE

“Even though it’s hard work, I’m enjoying myself while doing it. Yeah, there’s time

when you’re up in the middle of the night, pulling a calf, and you need to be at work at 4:30 in the morning, it’s not necessarily enjoyable, but there’s still that new baby calf that’s born alive. You get that sense of fulfillment. Even though you didn’t get

much sleep, it’s definitely enjoyable.”

QUAL

ITY

OF L

IFE

“I used to make more money before I started working on the farm, but I now have more family time. I can

take vacations in the winter. You can have a better lifestyle on the farm.”

QUAL

ITY

OF L

IFE

QUAL

ITY

OF L

IFE

HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE YOUR LIFE AS A FARMER TO HOW IT WOULD BE IF YOU HAD LEFT THE FARM?

SPOUSE’S ROLE IN FARMING OPERATION

“[My wife] is very involved in all the decision making. She likes to pick out bulls that we use – we artificially inseminate all

the cows. She helps with the record keeping. She does the feeding if I can’t.

The kids are involved, even though they’re young, they like to go to the farm.”

SPOU

SE’S

ROL

E IN

FAR

MIN

G OP

ERAT

ION

SPOUSES ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE INVOLVED ON LIVESTOCK FARMS VS. CROP FARMS

SPOUSAL INVOLVEMENT50/50IN GENERAL…

SPOU

SE’S

ROL

E IN

FAR

MIN

G OP

ERAT

ION

SPOU

SE’S

ROL

E IN

FAR

MIN

G OP

ERAT

ION ON SMALLER FARMS,

SPOUSES ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE INVOLVED IN DECISION MAKING.

ON LARGER FARMS, SPOUSES ARE MORE LIKELY TO WORK OFF THE FARM.

DECISION MAKING

“[We make decisions] Together. [My dad] obviously has the final say, but you know, he’s more the idea, he comes up with the ideas, here’s what I want, he

gets the ball rolling. I do all the research and get as much information

about what he’s thinking, whatever different options I think I can come up with, and then we discuss it and then kind of make a decision from there."

DECI

SION

MAK

ING

OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY ARE ALREADY THE PRIMARY DECISION MAKER FOR THEIR FARMING OPERATION2/3

DECI

SION

MAK

ING

THE MAJORITY ARE ALREADY MAKING EVERYDAY OPERATIONAL DECISIONS, PARTICULARLY CROP DECISIONS AND TECHNOLOGY

DECI

SION

MAK

ING

SKILLS

MILLENNIAL FARMERS ARE EXPERIENCED, EDUCATED BUSINESS OPERATORS.

of farmers worked off the farmprior to working on the farm

SKIL

LS

68.4%

67.2%have at least a college degree 35-44 year olds of the general

population have a Bachelor’s Degree

33%

SKIL

LSMOST IMPORTANT SKILLS:

MILLENNIALS VS. OLDER GENERATION

“My father has a lot of experience, but maybe isn’t so inclined to adopt some of

the newer technologies. It sometimes takes some convincing to explain the

benefits and how it can help improve the breakeven point now and in the future.”

MIL

LENN

IALS

VS.

OLD

ER G

ENER

ATIO

N

MIL

LENN

IALS

VS.

OLD

ER G

ENER

ATIO

N OLDER FARMER

MIKE

“I’m more likely to use technology such as variable rate and precision planting. I also do more of my

own research on my farm such as population plots and experimenting with fertilizer and foliar feeds.”

MIL

LENN

IALS

VS.

OLD

ER G

ENER

ATIO

NMORE ACCEPTING OF NEW TECHNOLOGY

38%

What is the biggest difference in your approach to farming compared to an older farming partner?

“Younger generation is overall more open to change and innovation. We have always looked and paired

with universities for research, however, younger generation is more likely to go with recommendations whereas the older generation is slightly more resistant

to changes based on previous experiences.”

MIL

LENN

IALS

VS.

OLD

ER G

ENER

ATIO

NMORE WILLING TO CHANGE PRACTICES

21%


“The biggest difference is that I plan and my dad sits back and sees what happens.”

MIL

LENN

IALS

VS.

OLD

ER G

ENER

ATIO

NMORE AMBITIOUS

13%


COMPARED TO AN OLDER FARMER, ARE YOU MORE, LESS OR EQUALLY LIKELY TO DO THE FOLLOWING?

MIL

LENN

IALS

VS.

OLD

ER G

ENER

ATIO

N

MIL

LENN

IALS

VS.

OLD

ER G

ENER

ATIO

NCOMPARED TO AN OLDER FARMER, ARE YOU MORE, LESS OR ABOUT THE SAME WHEN IT COMES TO BEING…

HOW TO REACH THEM

1. INTERNET

INTE

RNET

“All the information that is presented at trade shows, you can get online. The information on the company, product,

service is all out there without having to drive a hundred miles to go to a show.”

INTE

RNET

INTE

RNET

HAVE YOU USED THESE ITEMS IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS FOR FARMING OR PERSONAL USE?

SMAR

T PH

ONE

2. SMART PHONE

“I sign up for AgWeb Daily, things like that come up on my phone every day. Get those types of

posts and then I just read through them.”

SMAR

T PH

ONE


SMAR

T PH

ONE

AG F

ORUM

S

3. AG FORUMS

“There’s all these different forums where you can see what people are saying

about certain products or topics. I mean, there’s just a wealth of knowledge.”

AG F

ORUM

S


AG F

ORUM

S

YOUT

UBE

4. YOUTUBE

“A video of a product – if I can watch a video of how something works and totally understand it,

then I’m more likely to purchase it.”

YOUT

UBE

“I use YouTube a lot. You can see videos of the product/equipment

working, you can get testimonials and see actual farmers using it on their farm without ever having to go anywhere. It’s a fast way to do research on something

to see if it is viable for you.”

YOUT

UBE


YOUT

UBE

PERS

ONAL

REL

ATIO

NSHI

PS

5. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

“Most important that companies develop the 1-on-1 relationship with

farmers. It’s still important for our dealers and seed reps, chemical reps spend time with our family. It’s not just

a farmer, but a family relationship.”

PERS

ONAL

REL

ATIO

NSHI

PS

HOW

TO

REAC

H TH

EMWHERE DO YOU OBTAIN THE KNOWLEDGE YOU USE TO MAKE GOOD FARMING DECISIONS?

TAKEAWAYS

Millennial farmers use their own experiences to make purchasing decisions, supplemented with the internet

TAKEAWAYS

Think of millennial farmers not just as farmers, but instead, business people in the business of farming

These farmers are in their formative years for developing relationships

Tests, trials, and samples are ways to convince and convert

Priorities hint at future reliance on others in areas of data, technology and field operations

Millennial farmers are already the decision makers on their operation

Show them (with video), don’t just tell them

THANK YOU!

millennials in agriculture research presentation

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