A conversation we can’t avoid

In this week’s cover story, we wanted to focus on the topic of aging farmers on the land and the health, safety and welfare issues they may face. It’s a conversation no one wants to have, but it’s perhaps just as important as transitioning farm assets. 

We are in for a “gray wave” in farm country. Today, the first of the baby boomer farmers—many of whom are our primary operators—are nearing their early 70s. At 58 years, the average age of the American farmer is nearly 14 years older than the average age of other workers. And farmers are hardwired to continue working long past the age most others would retire.

As one of the interview subjects put it, there just is no gold watch party for a farmer. Most will just continue working right up until the hearse shows up to take them away. 

But we know aging brings challenges. Mental acuity can start to get fuzzy; reflexes can slow; eyesight can dim and more. All of which are dangerous in a populated area—but if you add the hard labor and high stress of farming miles from town and neighbors, it can vastly compound the situation. Tiny missteps can become deadly mistakes.

Just researching this story and talking with these experts and farm families brought up even more questions than we had space to address in the regular portion of the paper. 

Primary operators have access to farm bank accounts and are prime targets for financial fraud. Are our local bankers able to work with their clients to put safeguards in place?

Farm equipment continues to get more technologically advanced, confusing enough for young people but downright dangerous if the operator has memory problems. Are our machinery companies preparing for the needs of older farmers?

Handling livestock is dangerous for anyone, but if the reflexes are slowing simple tasks like tagging a calf can be deadly. What tools and techniques are available to make that physical labor safer?

Rural areas are historically underserved in the healthcare field. If there’s a hospital nearby is it set up with specialists in geriatric needs? Are there specialists within a safe driving distance? Do we have safeguards in place for distributing and monitoring their pain medications and other drugs that could be abused?

Our rural towns need to start considering new approaches to senior citizen programs and outreach efforts. Grocery stores, pharmacies and other businesses in small towns can greatly affect the quality of life of rural elderly just by adding new services like grocery delivery or longer hours. 

Most importantly, we found that farm families need to open up the dialogue about aging now, before an accident or a health crisis makes the conversation unavoidable. Aging parents need to be honest with their adult children about their needs and concerns. Children and grandchildren need to be open and respectful about finding solutions to those concerns. And the whole family needs to be on the same page when it comes to planning—both those who stayed behind to farm and those who moved away for their careers. 

If multiple generations can come together to make a farming business successful, they can surely come together to find ways to help their aging family members continue to contribute to the farm in a safe fashion. Even if they can’t safely run a tractor, or easily climb into the saddle, they still have decades of wisdom they can contribute to the next generation.

It’s worth swallowing pride and sitting down and talking it out. Because at the end of the day, it’s not just a business leader who may be struggling, it’s a family member you love.

Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached at 620-227-1807 or [email protected].