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# GRAPHIC: Very few farmers are millennials, and, of those, the vast majority are white
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/graphic-very-few-farmers-are-millennials-and-of-those-the-vast-majority-are-white/
- Published: 2021-07-14T18:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T18:10:50.000Z
- Author: Mary Hennigan, Investigate Midwest
- Tags: Data Harvest, TP::Explainer, farmers, ranchers, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

Young producers, farmers and ranchers who are 35 and younger represented 9% of all American producers in 2017, [according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture](https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full%5FReport/Volume%5F1,%5FChapter%5F1%5FUS/st99%5F1%5F0068%5F0068.pdf?ref=investigatemidwest.org).

Nearly all, 96%, of the young producers were [white](https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full%5FReport/Volume%5F1,%5FChapter%5F1%5FUS/st99%5F1%5F0052%5F0052.pdf?ref=investigatemidwest.org). This left 14,111 young producers of color in the U.S. Socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, those who have experienced racial or ethnic prejudice, have additional funding opportunities through the USDA’s [2501 program](https://www.usda.gov/partnerships/socially-disadvantaged-farmers-and-ranchers?ref=investigatemidwest.org).

About 80% of the young producers started farming in the last 10 years and about 50% started in the last five years. Most young producers reported a primary occupation that was not farming in 2017\. The USDA’s Farm Service Agency offers support to beginning farmers and ranchers through direct and guaranteed [loan programs](https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs/beginning-farmers-and-ranchers-loans/index?ref=investigatemidwest.org).