Even with the unstableness of today’s economy, the number-one challenge rated among the surveyed individuals was the availability of land and facilities. “As more and more Montana land gets taken out of production agriculture, it gets harder and harder for young people to have the resources they need for a successful operation,” the Buffalo rancher says.

As far as today’s economy goes, Willis says “For young people, this is perfect. We aren’t afraid to take risks. And, with land prices and input costs going down, agriculture could be a bright spot on the economic map. Nobody seems to know what’s going to happen with our economy, but one thing is for certain - everybody needs to eat.”

According to the survey, in a ranking of common challenges facing farmers and ranchers, the availability of land and facilities was the top concern with 21.3 percent of the respondents. Overall profitability and economic challenges was second cited by 17.1 percent. Government regulations was third at 12 percent, followed by urbanization and the loss of farmland (8.3 percent), willingness of parents to turn over the reins of the operation (7.8 percent), competition from established or larger farms (6.7 percent), healthcare availability and cost (5.7 percent) and challenges presented by animal welfare groups (5.2 percent). Other challenges included topics such as availability of financing, labor availability and regulations, tax burdens, water availability and lack of rural services.

Regardless of those challenges, the survey also shows that a whopping 92 percent of the young farmer and ranchers see themselves as life-long farmers. In addition, an even larger percentage, 96 percent, says they would like to see their children follow in their footsteps. The survey shows that 80 percent believe their children will be able to follow in their footsteps.