Ask most young people what they want to do with their lives, and odds are few would suggest farming.
Farming is ingrained in Wisconsin’s culture but faces a number of challenges. One is that farmers are aging as a group and few young adults are going into the profession. The average age of the American farmer is nearly 58 years old, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
But in Douglas County, there is a new cattle rancher trying to change the demographics. Kory Adams, a 19-year-old beef and dairy farmer, told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that he’s following his dream after working on a dairy farm at 16 years old.
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Through the help of a federal farm service agency loan, he’s now the owner of what he hopes to become a 50-head cattle ranch. He looks forward to learning the business as he goes.
“There is so much to learn,” Adams said. “It’s free education that you’re being paid for. And if you wake up every morning with a good attitude, there is always room for success.”
On “Wisconsin Today,” Adams discussed the process of building a new cattle farm and his love of farming.
The following was edited for brevity and clarity.
Rob Ferrett: What drew you to take up a life as a farmer?
Kory Adams: I’ve been farming for three years for a guy named Jon TePoel. He runs a dairy farm. And I just got drawn to it. I didn’t really have a plan coming out of high school and I decided that this is the life that I want.
There is a lot to be had in farming. There is not a lot of young attention to it. And I know that if I succeed and young people my age see success, more people will be drawn to this.
RF: What is it that made you think of farming as a career?
KA: You’re outside, and if it’s snowing outside, you’re working in the elements. But it’s peaceful. You don’t have to deal with 20 people coming in and taking orders and whatever. How you determine the day on the farm is how your day is going to be.
RF: So what does it take to buy a farm?
KA: Jon TePoel had land that was close to another farm, and there was land that was closer to Jon’s farm that was going up for sale. So they came to us and they’re like, “There’s this farm down the road from you guys, let’s trade land.” What ended up happening is John was going to trade the land, but it had a house and had a barn. Jon came to me and said, “Would you be interested in buying it?” And I said, “Yes, of course!” An opportunity like this is one in a million.
It took a very long time to get this officially done. It took almost six months. With (the Farm Service Agency), we had to get the loan approved. An 18-year-old coming in there doesn’t have a lot of credit, but they said that was used to my benefit. And then after that, it was just a waiting game to get approved. And then right when we were about to close, the government shutdown happened. So, it got extended a little bit.
Once I bought the farm, the day that I bought it, and I was thinking about my plan for the weekend and whatever, we ended up getting a whole bunch of snow.
RF: What was it like the first time you set foot on this property after completing the deal, and it’s yours now?
KA: I brought Mom and Dad with me, we walked through the front door, I’m looking out my back window. I see all these silos and the barn and I’m thinking, “This is actually my chance to prove that I can do this.”
