Despite the fact that Wisconsin has lost 10% of its farms since 2017, with the closure of over 450 dairy farms last year alone, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), there has been an increase in new and beginner farmers over the same time period, WMTV15 reports.
The average farmer’s age is 56.7 years old, but since 2017, the number of new or beginner farmers has seen a 16% uptick. The Wisconsin Farmers Union credits policy for the trend after the USDA created programs to support smaller farmers in response to pandemic-era hardships.
