Agriculture group aims to recruit young Wisconsin farmers

JANESVILLE, Wis. — A farming organization in Wisconsin is teaching children about agriculture in the classroom in the hopes of recruiting and retaining younger farmers.

Sheila Everhart, the Rock County coordinator for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom program, tells The Janesville Gazette her goal is to educate kids about where their food comes from and introduce them to career opportunities in agriculture. She says she wants her lessons to appeal to all students, not just those with farming backgrounds.

The average age of Wisconsin farmers has crept steadily upward over the past few decades. A typical farmer was 48 years old in 1982. The average Wisconsin farmer was 56 in 2012, the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture Census.

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