Agriculture is a building block of nations. The United States Department of Agriculture reports 22.1 million full-and part-time jobs were related to the agricultural and food sectors in 2022, representing 10.4 percent of total U.S. employment. Statistics Canada reports agriculture in Canada employed around 280,000 people as of 2023.
Today’s farmers face a convergence of environmental, social and economic pressures. Each of these pressures has the potential to threaten the stability of the global food supply. The following are five notable challenges facing modern farmers.
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Extreme weather: Climate changed has moved from a theory to a current reality for many farmers. Growing seasons have become much less predictable as frost dates and heat waves have shifted when plants can be sowed and harvested. Farmers also are increasingly dealing with too much or too little water, each of which can destroy crops.
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Financial squeeze: Farmers are increasingly facing economic pressures. The price of fuel, seeds and fertilizers has become highly volatile. The American Farm Bureau Foundation says fertilizer prices in 2025 climbed high again as global trade shifted, energy costs rose and geopolitical risks reshaped supply.
Farming requires massive capital investments tied to machinery and land. High interest rates can make it difficult for farmers to pay the debt required to stay operational. In addition, farmers typically have little control over the market price of their products, leaving them vulnerable to global trade wars.
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Labor shortages: Finding and retaining agricultural labor is a big crisis. The average age of farmers globally is rising, says the International Labor Organization and the American Farm Bureau Foundation. In the U.S. and the European Union, the average farmer is nearly 60 years old. The AFBF reports that, despite increased wages, nearly 50 percent of farmers struggle to find enough workers to harvest seasonal crops.
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Sustainability transitions: Compliance costs are high for the farmers who have opted to transition to more sustainable farming practices. Transitioning to Net Zero agriculture requires significant capital, according to the World Economic Forum.
The WEF estimates there is a multi-trillion dollar investment gap to move global agriculture toward sustainable practices. And while regenerative farming improves soil health, the initial transition period can produce yield variations that threaten the livelihoods of small farmers.
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Digital divide: The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has raised concerns that small-scale farmers lack the infrastructure like high-speed internet necessary to use tools designed to increase efficiency. Plus, groups like the National Farmers Union have testified that software locks on farming equipment create dependency on manufacturers that can strip farmers of their independence.
Modern farmers face various challenges that have persisted for ages and also newer problems tied to the modern, increasingly technology-based world.
