Farmers and Land
From At the Iowa Farm Table Podcast by From the Iowa Food System Coalition
June 2, 2026 · 13 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges and opportunities for beginning farmers in securing land and revitalizing rural communities.
More than 70% of farms in the U.S. have been lost over the past 125 years. Today less than 2% of Americans call farming their profession. Yet, in a world with a changing climate and uncertain job market, many are looking to farming as a way to get back to the land, grow healthy food for their community, and discover a life full of meaning. But finding land and becoming a full fledged member of the family farm are essential first steps in the plan. Beth Hoffman explores how securing land for beginning farmers isn’t just about creating business opportunity. It’s about revitalizing rural communities by giving the next generation the opportunity to farm again. Thanks for listening to the At the Iowa Farm Table Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts to your email inbox. Voices Carly McAndrews— Trowel and Error Farm Kristiana Coutu— Beginning Farmer Center , Iowa State University Jada Fife—Fife’s Fine Foods and Land Acquisition and Management Coordinator at SILT Hannah Breckbill— Humble Hands Harvest , creator of Farmers Land Investment Cooperative , and Land Navigator . Resources New Census of Agriculture reveals more farms, more farmers in Iowa Stay in the Loop Stay…
People in this episode
Guests: Carly McAndrews, Kristiana Coutu, Jada Fife, Hannah Breckbill
Topics covered
- farming
- land acquisition
- rural communities
- beginning farmers
- food systems
Keywords
- farming
- land access
- rural revitalization
- community food systems
- beginning farmers
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Trowel and Error Farm, Beginning Farmer Center, Iowa State University, Fife’s Fine Foods, SILT, Humble Hands Harvest, Farmers Land Investment Cooperative
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- Iowa Restaurants, Broadliners, and Meh Food · March 10, 2026 · 12 min
- A Triple Win For Iowa · February 23, 2026 · 9 min
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