Apr 14, 2024 By Mark Hofmann 4 min read

Things have changed for farmers over the years as obstacles have become bigger and expenses have increased.

For first-generation farmers, the challenges are exponentially bigger, said Darrell Becker, the president of the Fayette County Farm Bureau.

Those who haven’t inherited a farm or purchased an existing one need a pocket full of money to buy equipment and undertake the major expense of purchasing land, said Becker.

“It’s no secret that land is expensive and limited,” he said.

The limited space is compounded by older farmers who want to move out of that line of work. Often, said Becker, when they can find no one to take over their operation, they sell to developers. That, in turn, destroys fertile ground.

“Once that land turns into something other than a farm, it doesn’t turn back,” he said.

Still, there are some first-generation farmers willing to take on the challenge.

Marin MacNamara and her husband Mike Andrews run Andrews Farms LLC in Perryopolis, Fayette County, and David Bentrem and his family run Three D Ranch in Burgettstown, Washington County.

While both farms have been operating for more than a decade, MacNamara and Bentrem said getting established has been hard work.

Bentrem has co-owned and co-operated the ranch, where they raise and grow grass-fed Red Devon beef cattle, with his brother, Daniel, and their father, Doug, for 15 years.

To keep things running, Bentrem and his brother both have two full-time jobs. Both work on the ranch full time, while David works as a blacksmith and Daniel as a carpenter.

“It’s hard to make the jump with the cost of everything,” Bentrem said.

MacNamara also has a day job, working in the agricultural finance field. She works on their 2,000-acre farm of soybeans, corn, winter wheat and hay part-time, while her husband is the full-time farmer.

“Unlike a lot of businesses, farming is a very capital-intensive business — they say you’re cash poor and asset rich,” MacManara said. “It takes a lot to put crops in and out of the ground.”

The Bentrems, who formerly raised horses for a different farm, started their beef farm because they believed it was the more sustainable choice, and because they believe in buying food straight from a farmer.

“COVID really changed that; it was a big eye-opener for people,” Bentrem said. “That mentality is coming back where you want to know where your food is coming from.”

Land and equipment for that were expensive, he said, but, “We overcame it by working together as a family.”

They built the farm up slowly, each of the co-owners purchasing equipment as they could.

“That was the only way to do it,” he said.

Lisa Wherry, the president of the Washington County Farm Bureau, said both existing and first-generation farms are important.

“We don’t want to lose productivity with farmland and continue feeding America,” she said

But, Becker noted, the number of local farms continues to decrease.

The most recent census of farms conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed a slow but steady decline in the number of farms operating in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties. By 2022, the three counties lost 711 of the 3,732 farms operating in 2012, according to the USDA data.

Not only do first-generation farmers have to deal with the start-up costs, they also have a challenge ahead of them to build a reputation.

In their 20th year of Andrews Farms LLC, McNamara said neither their assets or reputation grew overnight.

“It definitely takes time,” she said. “We were slowly building up the business in the last 20 years, we’ve been through some ups and downs like farming through COVID, but we have a solid relationship that helps our business.”

“It’s long hours and long days, but we’re unbelievably blessed with families and kids who are young and enjoy it,” Bentrem said. “I truly hope with me and my brother that the next generation will be able to do it full-time.”

While there are some first-generation farms in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed a steady decline in the counties’ overall farming operations between 2012 and 2022.

Fayette County: 2012 – 941; 2022 – 795. Total loss – 146

Washington County: 2012 – 1,915; 2022 – 1,583. Total loss – 332

Greene County: 2012 – 876; 2022 – 643. Total loss – 233