|
Where the following data comes
from: The New Farm readership demographics
were compiled based on the results of a survey posted on the
web-site. The survey consisted of two separate modules for
farmers and non-farmers. Both modules contained over 60 questions
and the estimated time for completing the survey was about
25 minutes.
I. How to spot a New Farmer in a crowd
The majority of NewFarm.org readers are well educated, professional
middle aged men and women. Overall they tend to be younger
and better educated than the average for the farmer population
in the nation. We also have a higher proportion of women farmers
compared to national statistics. The proportion of women increases
even more in the non-farmer category where the ratio of men
to women is nearly 1 to 1.
Demographics
The
Farmer |
| Gender |
Age |
Education |
| 31% female |
Average age: 46 years |
60% college/graduate degree |
| 67% male |
|
29% some college |
| 2% no response |
|
10% high school |
| |
|
1% no response |
The
Non-Farmer |
| Gender |
Age |
Education |
| 48% female |
Average age: 44 years |
17% graduate degree |
| 52% male |
|
54% college degree |
| |
|
25% some college |
| |
|
4% high school |
About half (48%) of our readers are under 45 years of
age compared to 31% for American farmers in general while
only 5% are above the age of 65, compared to 25% for the nation
(Census of Agriculture 1997). The age distribution is similar
to that of certified organic farmers surveyed by Organic Farming
Research Foundation (OFRF) in 1997 in that 25% are under the
age of 40.
Our readers are on the average better educated than national
averages, including the organic farmer population. The 1997
OFRF survey of certified organic farmers reports 56% of respondents
with college degrees versus 65% for our readers.
II. You from
around here?
One of the main objectives of The New Farm website is to
be place where farmers can come together and learn from one
another. Using interactive features, columns and departments
The New Farm reaches out to farmers around the country and
around the world.
Domestic
reach
Note: *
Numbers for US readers only. Meaningful data on international
readers is not yet available.
The majority of respondents come from the Midwest (North
Central) region of the United States – 35%, followed
by the Northeast at 25%. The distribution of respondents compared
to the proportion of farms located in each region of the United
States indicates that we observe a slight overrepresentation
of survey respondents from the Northeast and under-representation
of respondents from the South.
III. Day-jobs
The New Farm, an advocate of a regenerative farming lifestyle,
seeks to support and encourage farming hopefuls. By telling
real farmer success stories in “1000 Stories of Regenerative
Agriculture” and dishing out straight talk from active
farmers in our columns we hope to facilitate the farm lifestyle
for all those who dream it through a dose of practical advice
and inspiration. But until the fairytales meet reality our
readers haven’t given up their day jobs. Here’s
a breakdown of how they are spending their free-time:
Occupation
Farmer
- 37% farm full-time
- 63% farm part-time and listed below
are the main “second occupation” categories:
- 63% hold second occupations not related to agriculture
or farming ranging from firefighter to college researcher
- 21% hold second occupations related to nature and
health (education; vets; nurses; agriculture sales;
landscaping)
- 8% are writers or publishers
- 7% are retired
Non-Farmer
- 46% occupations not related to agriculture
- 33% have a job related to agriculture, including marketing
and sales of ag products/tools and food
- 9% are educators (excluding ag educators, they are counted
above)
- 5% health related
- 4% retired
- 2% writer/publisher
The majority of our farmer-readers farm part-time. Among
part-timers most hold second occupations not related to agriculture,
food, or health. This is also true of our non-farmer readership
only one-third hold a position related to agriculture. While
they may not currently be employed as farmers, many of our
"non-farmer" readers (73%) are strongly considering
pursuing a career in farming, farm as a hobby or farm part-time
but do not consider themselves farmers.
IV. How does your garden grow?
The New Farm advocates organic farming as an advantageous
alternative by touting the environmental, social and economic
benefits over conventional farming methods. Here’s a
look at how well they’ve been listening:
Farming methods
At least part organic (79%)
- Organic, not certified 34%
- Organic certified 21%
- Part organic 14%
- In transition 10%
Non-organic (18%)
- Conventional 4%
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM) 7%
- Considering transition 7%
Our readership is overwhelmingly practicing or considering
using organic methods.
|
