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Abstract
Agriculture in the United States has changed significantly since the early 20th Century. Farmers have continued to be a graying segment of the workforce, with the average age of all farmers now 57.5 years old and 34% of all farmers over the age of 65. Other complexities exist in questions of racial, gender, and economic equity in the U.S. agricultural sector. In the midst of these shifts, the U.S. has seen a renewed interest among “beginning” farmers: individuals who are returning to the family farm, farming for the first time, and coming back to the land for a variety of reasons. This study utilized qualitative methods and the Community Capitals Framework (CCF) to examine the ways that beginning farmers in Georgia attempt to access resources and work with large scale institutions. This phenomenon was examined from two perspectives: beginning farmers and University of Georgia (UGA) Extension agents. The CCF provides a more comprehensive understanding of the lived experiences and needs of beginning farmers, while pointing to ways that interventions from Extension help or hinder their success.