In recent years, there have been national efforts to cultivate a young, vibrant farm population through such programs as the federal “Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program” and “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” campaign.
These programs attempt to foster the next generation of farmers and a stronger agricultural economy by emphasizing economic, market and land-access issues. While there has been a renewed interest in opportunities for economic growth through food and agriculture, many farm families report challenges in managing the farm enterprise due, in part, to the costs and availability of health care, health insurance and child care.
A number of studies have found the cost of health insurance has been a major barrier to farming full-time and contributed to delaying investments in farm and ranch enterprises. Farmers and ranchers who are uninsured or underinsured can accrue crushing medical debt which can increase financial risk, lead to farm foreclosure, and reduce overall quality of life.
In a national study on farm adaptation and growth in counties experiencing non-farm development pressure, 66 percent of commercial farmers reported the cost of health insurance as a serious problem for their farm business. Farm operators or their spouse often have an off-farm job for health care benefits, decreasing the amount of time available for farming and marketing.
Resources are being re-directed toward health insurance rather than being reinvested into the farm business.
Farm families also have to make complex health insurance decisions for their own family and also make decisions as employers for their employees. There have been few studies examining how farmers are navigating the health insurance options available to them and how those options influence their farm enterprise.
The availability, quality and cost of child care is another particularly significant issue for farm families and farm business planning, yet has received relatively little attention. While farmers often express a desire to live and work on a farm with their children, some form of child care is often necessary to ensure child safety when focusing on field work and book keeping.
However, many farm families report it is challenging to find available, affordable, high-quality care (either in a center or home setting). The demands of child rearing without support may limit time for farm business and household activities, affecting potential growth of the farm enterprise.
Challenges related to child care are of particular concern for female farmers, who may have multiple roles, including primary child caregiver, wage-earner through off-farm employment, and farmer. Despite growing numbers of mothers in the workforce, they remain the primary caretakers in the family.
According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, nearly 30 percent of principal farm operators in Maine are women, far greater than the national rate. Both nationwide and in Maine, the rate of women farmers is growing.
Of the farms across the nation with women principal operators, 90 percent make less than $50,000 per year in gross profit and government payments, making the high costs of child care even less accessible from farm income alone. Without reliable, affordable, high-quality child care options, women and farm families face significant challenges.
National, state and local policy makers are increasingly recognizing the contribution of child care to child development, parental labor force mobilization and regional economic development. While the benefits, availability and cost of child care have gained national attention, there has been no large-scale research examining how this issue impacts farm families and the farm sector.
In order to better understand the relationship between health insurance, child care and the farm business, researchers at the University of Vermont are interviewing farmers in nine northeast states to understand how health insurance and child care options influence farm enterprise growth and development.
This project is funded through a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant and is intended to help develop programs and policy that minimize the challenges and maximize the opportunities for economic development in the agricultural sector by offering high-quality jobs that enhance employer and employee quality of life.
Maine farmers are invited to participate in brief phone interviews on the issues of health care and/or child care. If you are a Maine farmer and interested in talking about health care and/or child care, please contact research assistant Emily Stengel at estengel@uvm.edu.
Shoshanah Inwood is a rural sociologist and an assistant professor in the department of Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont. Contact her at sinwood@uvm.edu. Emily Stengel is a M.S. candidate and research assistant in the department of Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont. Contact her at estengel@uvm.edu.
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