Boom(er) or bust

Prime Future 164: the newsletter for innovators in livestock, meat, and dairy

"Two major hurdles facing AgTech are operational traditions and an ambivalence to investing into the unfamiliar. Both can be attributed, in part, to an aging farm population. The average age for an American farmer today stands at just under 60 years old. Set in their ways, this age group has been resistant to change and to investing in new technology.

With that said, there is an up-and-coming generation of younger farmers whose mindset is more open to the application of AgTech to traditional farming practices. While they currently make up less than 15% of American farmers, those under the age of 35 better understand the vast potential of AgTech, and how to analyze the data it generates."

This is a verrrrrry common idea that gets thrown around in the agtech world.

But what if the conclusion is wrong?

“Target younger producers,” they say.

“Younger people are tech natives; they’ll be more open to agtech,” they say.

But what if there’s a counterintuitive path?