Delaware has recently awarded three no-interest loans to young farmers in the state. The Young Farmers Loan Program is designed to help young people break into agriculture.
It’s also facilitating generation transfer by allowing younger farmers' to buy out their parents, according to Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee.
That generational transfer allows older farmers to retire, helping agriculture become a younger man's game. The average average age of a farmer in Delaware is currently 57 years old, and creeping older.
“We also know that there’s a demand and an interest level for young people to get into farming. But without some sort of creative thinking and unique program it’s really hard for them to pull the capital together to start a farm,” Kee said.
These no-interest loans are designed to address this need and put capital in the pockets of would-be farmers.
Agriculture is the state’s largest industry and creates tens of thousands of jobs in Delaware.
Kee said the Young Farmers loans will protect the industry by preserving farmland and investing in people to work the soil for years to come.
