As America's farming population ages, a new program looks to cultivate its next generation
Cream Ridge, New Jersey — On an acre of land in Cream Ridge, New Jersey, Christina Couch is a one-woman force.
Months of prepping, planting and nurturing, seven days a week, have turned her brown field into tidy rows of lush vegetables and herbs.
Couch, a former cook, is now a newly-minted farmer.
"We're growing a lot of specialty varieties," Couch told CBS News. "...So when you go to restaurant, you see a fancy, colorful beet, or a beautiful garnish, or a delicate herb."
At 26 years old, she's more than three decades younger than the average farmer in the U.S., which is 57.5, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Almost half the nation's farms are owned by farmers 65 and over, making them the oldest workforce in the country, according to the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging.
"It is a crisis in the sense of, we do have to have a next generation," said Bill Hlubik, an agricultural professor and third generation farmer who is serving as Couch's mentor. "...We absolutely have to have the next generation of farmers to produce food for us."
Hlubik actively recruits promising farmers for the Beginner Farmer Training Program at New Jersey's Rutgers University.
"Many people are not raised on a farm, or don't have access through their parents or relatives," said Hlubik on why it is often difficult to break into farming. "People don't often know the resources that are out there to help them."
Hlubik says the goal of the program is to ensure that "young people and middle-aged people are coming into this with some knowledge, and we're transferring that knowledge from people that are experts in the field."
The three-phase program begins with online classes covering farming basics, followed by hands-on training. Select students develop a farm business plan and put it into action. They can rent land from the program with access to equipment and agricultural experts.
"We are attracting a very diverse group of people into our program," said Hlubik, who noted 60% of those enrolled in the program are women, and close to 60% are from minority groups.
Novices like Couch, many without a farm background, are seeking customers in a non-traditional route.
"We're just going about farming a bit differently, a little bit against the grain, and leveraging things like social media, like fundraising, and just building communities that people are attracted to want to support young farmers," Couch said.
A CBS News crew saw greens that had been picked by Couch just hours earlier delivered to Jasper Stone Restaurant in Monroe Township, New Jersey, where Couch used to work as a line cook and realized her dream of farming.
"I just had this light bulb moment that I could grow this and help fill the gap, so that we don't have to get produce from so far away to put on the tables at restaurants," Couch said.
Now she's proud to have her locally grown produce turned into delicious salads.
"It's the hardest job I've ever had," Couch said. "It is really, really difficult, the physical labor and the heat of the summer, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade it for anything."