NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

January 6, 2000

N.D. Farmers Aging But Not as Old as National Average

North Dakota farmers are getting older, but their average age is not as great as that of farmers in many other states. The average age of North Dakota farmers was 50 in 1992 and 51.4 in 1997. Nationwide, the average age of farmers was 54.3 in 1997, according to the latest Population Bulletin from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University.

"This rising age of farmers reflects both the displacement of younger farmers during the past five years and the inability of younger operators to successfully get into framing," explains Richard Rathge, data center director. "What is particularly intriguing in North Dakota is the average age of farmers/ranchers tends to get younger as you move from west to east in the state.

"For example, near the Montana border, the average age of farmers and ranchers is about 54. Mid-state the average age drops to around 51 and declines further, to 47, near the Minnesota border. A similar trend is found nationally, with the younger farmers located here in the north central states and the older farmers in the South and West."

Younger farmers in North Dakota, those younger than 35, declined by nearly 30 percent between 1992 and 1997. Conversely, elderly farmers, those older than age 70, grew by 22 percent. The only other age category to show an increase during the period comprised those farmers ages 45 to 54 (17 percent growth).

Based on the definition used by the U.S. Census Bureau, the term "operator" designates a person who operates a farm, doing either the work or making day-to-day decisions about such things as planting, harvesting, feeding and marketing. For partnerships, only one partner is counted as the operator. For census purposes, the number of operators is the same as the number of farms.

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Source: Richard Rathge (701) 231-8621
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136

 

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