<\/p>\n
As Mancos ranchers Patricia and Jack Burk grew older, they faced a dilemma. They wanted to see their Burk Beef business continue but had no one to maintain their lands and cattle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2012, it became apparent that we were not able to physically continue to do what we had done for the past decade,\u201d Patricia Burk said at a recent presentation the couple gave at the Mancos Public Library.<\/p>\n
They had a daughter, but she and her family were not interested in managing the lands themselves.<\/p>\n
And so, after downsizing their cattle herd and doing some thinking, they landed upon a solution that would not only help them, but also would allow an aspiring farmer to get an agricultural beginning. They brought Dustin Stein into their lives, giving him the experience and land necessary to kick off his farming career and ensure the survival of Stubborn Farm and Burk Beef.<\/p>\n
The Burks are not alone in their predicament.<\/p>\n
Farmers nationwide are aging, and generational farming \u2013 the traditional practice of passing land down to one\u2019s children \u2013 may not happen, either because farmers are childless or because young people choose not to follow in their parents\u2019 footprints.<\/p>\n
And the startup costs facing young people interested in pursuing agriculture from a nonfarming background are often insurmountable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a real crisis across the nation, to have so many 65-year-old farmers,\u201d said Jack Burk. \u201cAnd ultimately what happens is that they almost wake up one day and decide they have to get rid of it. \u2026 And that usually is putting it on the market and selling it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hopes to encourage others to follow his model, to forge young-old partnerships and so preserve the future of the small family-owned farm.<\/p>\n
The Burks live in the house where Patricia grew up, on a parcel of land along County Road H just off U.S. Highway 160. Her father had moved to Mancos in order to help develop the irrigation infrastructure after the construction of Jackson Gulch Reservoir. As a professional soil conservationist, Patricia Burk said, he picked a property with fertile soils.<\/p>\n
She worked as an educator, teaching music, movement and piano.<\/p>\n
Jack Burk grew up raising cattle on a farm in Monte Vista and graduated from Fort Lewis College the first year they offered a four-year degree. He then earned his doctorate and went on to teach botany at California State University, Fullerton for most of his career.<\/p>\n
The Burks moved back to Mancos around the turn of the century, taking over Patricia\u2019s father\u2019s property after he died. Soon into retirement, though, Jack Burk felt the urge to return to his roots, and they acquired some cattle.<\/p>\n
They grew Stubborn Farm and Burk Beef from there. And as they grew older and considered what to do with their business, they became aware of a problem at the other end of the age spectrum.<\/p>\n
Young people interested in agricultural careers face increasing difficulties, as land and production expenses have escalated in price, Jack Burk said. Comparing data from 2002 to 2012, the medium farm size had decreased from 105 acres to 50, yearly production expenses had shot up from $18,586 to $42,670, and the market value per acre had increased from $516 to $1,108. Farmland was being valued for development, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they can afford is so small that it\u2019s almost impossible to make a living off it,\u201d Burk said.<\/p>\n
While historically, land was passed down from parents to their offspring \u2013 alleviating startup costs \u2013 this doesn\u2019t always happen anymore, and the pool of possible replacement farmers is dwindling.<\/p>\n