Twilight Farmers Have No Heirs to Take Over

By: Lisa Foust Prater

The Oxford English Dictionary defines twilight as, “the soft, glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon; or a period or state of obscurity, ambiguity, or gradual decline.” When farmers or ranchers without farming heirs look at the future of their operations, it may feel that they are watching the sun sink.

While it’s difficult to determine the exact number of farms without farming heirs, some historical and census data points to a trend. For example, 68% of farmers who responded to the 2014 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll had no adult children who were farming. A few years later, in 2017, Iowa State University’s Iowa Farmland Ownership and Tenure Survey found 53% of the state’s farmland was leased out. By 2023, that number had jumped to 58%.