The National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) is on a mission to shift power and change policy to equitably resource the next generation of working farmers. They are working toward a farm future that’s free of racial violence, accessible to communities, oriented towards environmental well-being, and concerned with health over profit.
Photo credit: Stella Kalinina
National Young Farmers Coalition: We Are That Generation
It’s no secret that climate change and racial inequity are huge issues facing agriculture and those who make their livelihoods from it. The National Young Farmers Coalition believes that the time is now to create change: we have one generation to secure agriculture for our communities’ best interest. We are that generation.
With a wide reach, Young Farmers tackles issues affecting the next generation of farmers with the following guiding principles:
- Farmers are leaders and change-makers
- We farm for our health
- We work for racial justice and collective liberation
- Land is foundational
- Policy change is necessary for a radical future
- The Coalition farms for climate resilience in collaboration with farmers
- Young Farmers works in solidarity with farmworkers
- The Coalition challenges capitalism
- The Coalition works across issues
- Young Farmers expresses solidarity with global agricultural movements
Since 2010, Young Farmers has cultivated 50 farmer-led chapters in 32 states, built a grassroots base of 3,000 members, and mobilized a network of 200,000 farmers, ranchers, and allies. In addition, they’ve won historic investments in beginning farmer training, have centered outreach to farmers of color, worked towards farmland conservation, and secured accessible COVID relief.
Photo credit: Stella Kalinina
The Stakes Have Never Been Higher
With nearly half of the nation’s farmland at risk of transitioning out of agriculture in the next two decades and the climate crisis looming, farmers need bold structural change. As of 2022, Young Farmers is mobilizing to meet this challenge with a bold policy platform and a robust advocacy strategy centered on connecting young and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) farmer-leaders with the policymakers who represent them in D.C.
Centering BIPOC leadership allows the Coalition to move forward not only with diverse perspectives, but with the ability to confront and make amends for the historical and ongoing violence against these communities. Through their One Million Acres for the Future campaign, Young Farmers aims to allocate $2.5 billion in farm bill funding to equitable land transition.
Agriculture and farming is vital to our survival as a species, and the National Young Farmers Coalition sees a bold way forward that’s both inclusive and climate resilient. Learn more at www.youngfarmers.org
