By Doug Fabbioli

I am well into my fifth decade of farming and I find myself regularly trying to find ways to encourage the next generation to join this industry. We always need more farmers, but we tend to have a hard time selling this job opportunity to young folks. I remember many years ago, applying to a job that advertised, “Hard work, low pay, long hours. Learn the wine business from the ground up.” Why in our modern age of 2024 would anyone want to do this work?

Maybe instead of complaining about the weather, the dirt, the broken equipment and the long days we need to pitch this opportunity with the highlights. How about this:  get plenty of sunshine and exercise while making a living and feeling productive! Sell your farm grown products at an urban farmers market, meet interesting folks wanting to try your products grown with love and commitment. Welcome folks from the city and show them your farm operation. Expose them to the taste of fresh asparagus from the ground or the sweetness of a peach right off the tree. Better?

Every culture on the planet has a foundation in agriculture, or they never would have survived. Farming is naturally diverse in its history. It is just a matter of growing what works on your land and climate along with what people want to eat, or wear. Kids love to get out on the farm no matter where it is located.  In NOVA for example we have Cox Farms and Great Country Farms among many others leading the way with agritainment opportunities for young folks and families. It might be feeding a baby goat, playing on old farm equipment, going through a corn maze or learning the science of germinating a seed. Many farms find a way to grow their crops and teach their visitors as well. The exposure of agriculture needs to be a priority if we want to keep eating, drinking and dressing. If that exposure is fun, then it could be more effective in encouraging people to choose farming.

I have been pushing and preaching this concept for a while, along with many others. School gardens, field trips and weekend family outings all contribute into encouraging the next generation to see the opportunities to do something different than sitting in a cubicle staring at a screen for a living. The New Ag School is built on this very idea, but our school systems can do a bit more to get these kids thinking about alternative career choices. We have spent the last century steering our youth to careers off the farm, but hopefully we are beginning to recognize the importance of farm work.

So…enjoy the farm and respect the farmer and appreciate how hard they work to make a living. Encourage your kids to spend more time outside as they may find their calling in the evolving field of agritainment. Remember that great wines come from great farmers on great lands.  The flavors of the foods we enjoy all come from Mother Nature. For more information on our program, go to Newagschool.org. Thanks, and help us keep farming!

Finally…Happy Father’s Day enjoy your day!

About the Author: Farmer, winemaker, entrepreneur, educator, and leader, Doug Fabbioli has been accelerating the growth and quality of Virginia’s wine industry since 1997. With his wife Colleen, Doug is the owner/operator of Fabbioli Cellars in Leesburg, VA. He is the founder and director of The New Ag School, which focuses on teaching the next generation of farmers and agriculture-related leaders. No wonder they call Doug Fabbioli the Godfather of DC’s Wine Country.