Hard Work, Sacrifice And Risk: Advice For First-Generation Farmers

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Doug Stark of central Wyoming knew he wanted to farm after high school but quickly had a hard reality check.

“The first year I kind of dabbled at it a little bit–I rented a farm and used my dad’s equipment. That didn’t really work out,” Stark recalls. “I didn’t have enough farm ground to make it all work, and I frankly, didn’t really know what I was doing from a business standpoint.”

Stark ended up at the University of Wyoming to study for an ag business degree. Once he graduated, however, there was no longer a family farm to apply his skills on.

“My dad sold the dairy, liquidated the farm and moved on as well,” Stark says. “It was out into the working world and Farm Credit Services of America.”

Stark stayed at Farm Credit for 37 years, eventually serving as the company’s CEO until his retirement a few years ago. He recently joined the Ag Inspo podcast with Ron Rabou and Rena Striegel to discuss what he believes the next generation of producers need to start a farming operation when one isn’t being passed down.

It’s Possible To Start From Scratch
Stark says the first misconception many young producers have is they can’t start farming by themselves. He says it can be done, but be prepared to make sacrifices.

“Whether in ranching or farming, people I know who did it have worked their tails off,” he says. “They went without a lot of years. They built things themselves. This friend of mine built his own shop by hand. He pounded all the posts, put up all the rafters and ran all the wiring. That’s the kind of thing that you have to do when you’re starting.”

Get Creative
Since first-generation farmers aren’t inheriting equipment, land, or other assets, Stark says they’ll need to get creative.

“How can you look at things differently than the traditional ‘buy the land and buy the machinery’ mindset,” he asks. “Maybe you help your neighbor harvest corn in exchange for using equipment initially or trade labor.”

That could also look like running a bare-bones, older equipment fleet for a few years.

“I met with a farmer who was stepping in to take over, and he was willing to downsize the equipment line in order to be able to afford to buy into the operation,” Striegel adds. “They were going through their inventory saying, ‘Do we really need a planter this nice and this big? Could we get by with something a little less new?’ It was really cool to see that young farmer being willing to consider not running top of the line equipment in order to be able to get in.

Another option is connecting with farmers without children to pass their farm down to - something Starke says is more common than you may expect.

“I can’t tell you how many producers I have known in my role as a leader that don’t have succession on their farm or ranch, and they would love to have a young person to work with to help them get started. It doesn’t mean they’re going to give their farm or ranch to them, but they would get a break and develop a lot of knowledge.”

Striegel shares an example of this she’s seen first-hand.

“I was on a farm where the gentleman didn’t have a lineal descendant as a successor. The young man he was working with was his best friend’s youngest son. Their farm was not large enough to support his two sons, so the older son was on the family farm, and the younger son is now working with this neighboring farmer to take over.”

Take Risks
Starke says you must be willing to take chances, as he doesn’t recall many farmers regretting a risk they took - mainly the ones they didn’t take.

“I would drive by a farm with a client and they would say ‘You know, I had a chance to buy that back in 1969 for $500 an acre, and I passed it up. We could have made it work, but I just was too stubborn. I only wanted to give him $450 and it’s worth $15,000 today,” Starke recalls.

He also recommends having an entrepreneurial spirit and finding ways to enhance the value of your operation.

“Maybe there’s some other agritourism you can employ. Maybe there’s other assets on the farm that you can look at, whether it’s a gravel pit or something that you could develop,” Starke says.