Berman currently works on a small, start-up farm. In a less expensive area, she could potentially start her own farm, but after contracting Lyme disease this year, she is concerned about the physical toll that farming takes. She worries about the economics of small farms, but says she is less enticed by larger ones, where “the beauty is sort of lost — the diversity, the connection to what you’re doing.” And even if she were to pursue a larger-scale farm, she doesn’t know how she’d get access to the credit needed to buy a large parcel of land and heavy machinery; even if she could, going into debt for such an uncertain venture is daunting. She has considered one of the more rigorous farm training programs available, but these often involve financial hardship and geographical relocation. As she enters her late twenties, these factors become harder to stomach. “I don’t want to give up the dream and I really believe in it. But I don’t want to be a martyr to it,” she says.Consider the sacrifices involved: “There are basically no small-scale farmers who have been in the business more than six years or are over 40,” says Linehan. “Small-scale farming isn’t new; people were doing it in the '90s, and those people quit. Because your body can’t take that kind of abuse into your 40s, you can’t make enough money to retire, you can’t make that much money in general.” That’s not to say that small farms are doomed or that there’s nothing that can be done. But as the latest wave of small-scale farmers, those who took to the fields in the late 2000s, comes of age, there is greater understanding of the hard economic truths of agricultural life. Training programs, such as the Hudson Valley’s Farm Hub , which began operating as a resilient agriculture incubator last year and provides research and training for local farmers as part of the nonprofit Local Economies Project, are slowly proliferating, giving some farmers a chance to gain the skills they need. And grants, such as the one Intervale used to develop their business plan, continue to support innovative ideas in the agricultural sector.And you don’t have to be a farmer or run a non-profit to help make the business of small farming make sense. As a consumer, you can help, too. One step is educate yourself about unfamiliar or less popular products, says Maren, who, in addition to fancier cuts of meat, also sells lard and other less ubiquitous products, which means less waste for his producers. According to Desai, it’s still worth seeking out CSAs and requesting that grocery stores and other mainstream markets carry more local food, demonstrating that a demand for these products exists. And then, there’s always good old-fashioned plugging. “Word of mouth is still the best marketing strategy for smaller farms,” she says. “Younger consumers can really tap into their social media networks to raise awareness.” It may not be enough to turn the tide for some struggling farms, but having a group of loyal customers is just good business.