We know from the 2007 Ag Census findings that the average age of N.C. farmers is 57, which means our next generation of farmers will play an immediate and vital role in producing N.C. food and fiber.
Our department works closely with youth organizations that support these young agriculturalists, including 4-H, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and the FFA. A new national organization called “I Love Farmers…They Feed My Soul” has ramped up its efforts to involve the nation’s youth through social media outreach. (Fun fact: The group’s tattoo-like logo was designed by a former FFA student.)
Here’s what it says on its “About Us” page:
- We may be young, but we are not stupid.
- We love farmers. They feed our soul. Together we are working to help our generation understand the importance of knowing where our food comes from and who produced it.
- We’re not your typical “who cares” kind of young people from the Millennial Generation. Sure, we all have cell phones and we text like crazy. We have iPods and spend way too much time on Facebook and MySpace, but we care about our planet. We care about our country. We care about the American family farmer.
The group has a Facebook page with more than 10,000 fans and also tweets its message on Twitter through the @ilovefarmersorg. You can also follow the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.
For more information on how agriculture and social media work together, check out the posts in our “Agriculture and Social Media” category here on the In the Field blog.