Young farmers rely on diversification and connections for growth

Community connections have helped one first-generation crop farmer get started.

Mitch Kline tells Brownfield he began farming when he was 14 years old and traded mowing services with a neighbor to grow hay in an overgrown field.

“I just used my dad’s mower and mowed his grass for rent and took the field out and borrowed some tractors from neighbors.”

Over time, more farmers helped him expand.

“They ended up seeing that I was very interested and taking me under their wing,” he says. 

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