COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOWO) – The aging farm population in Ohio needs a new generation to fill its shoes, but young farmers face many obstacles getting off the ground. 

Lindsey Lusher Shute, an Ohio native and executive director of the National Young Farmers Coalition, says capital is the biggest challenge for beginning farmers, especially those who are under financial constraints such as student loan debt. She adds it’s also very difficult to access land, particularly near major cities where prices may be impacted by competing developers.

“Areas within 200 miles of cities where a farmer really may have the best chance of success because they can do direct marketing, direct sales, that’s where land is more expensive,” she says. “So land remains one of the major challenges.”

Shute says while the country has grown by 200 million people since 1920, there are 28 million fewer farmers.