The recent U.S. Census shows that the average age of farmers is rising across the country as well as in Montgomery County. The EPA notes, “As the U.S. farm population has dwindled, the average age of farmers continues to rise. In fact, about forty percent of the farmers in this country are 55 years old or older (Bureau of Labor Statistics). The graying of the farm population has led to concerns about the long-term health of family farms as an American institution.”

But as other groups and media have observed, change may be afoot. The New York Times has tagged the increase in young hipster farmers in Oregon as a trend. And they find that young farmers across the country face the same problems–“access to land and money to buy equipment.”

Land costs are a deterrent in Montgomery County, even with the 93,000-acre Agricultural Reserve. The new farmers at Rocklands are farming family land, but admit they could never have gotten their a fully-suscribed CSA and livestock production started if they had to pay for that land.

But groups like Bethesda Green, which just particpated in a TEDx food summit and Montgomery Countryside Alliance, which advocates for local food production, are helping landowners recognize the value of productive fields.