A 2025 InvestigateTV report highlighted a growing concern in agriculture: America’s farming workforce is aging, and the next generation will play an important role in keeping food production moving forward.

According to the report, farmers remain one of the oldest workforces in the country, with the typical farmer nearing retirement age. As older generations begin to step back, younger producers are being asked to carry forward family operations while also adapting to a much more technology-driven agricultural landscape.

The report featured two young Nebraska brothers, Jett and Grady Johnson, who are sixth-generation farmers helping operate a family farm where corn and soybeans are central to the business. Their story reflects a larger shift taking place across agriculture: tradition is still deeply important, but modern farming now often requires advanced equipment, precision technology, automation, and major financial investment.

For producers, these tools are not just about convenience. Precision equipment can help improve efficiency, reduce waste, manage inputs more carefully, and support better decision-making. In the report, the Johnson brothers discussed how technology is used in planting and chemical application, helping meter seed and inputs with greater accuracy.

For agricultural insurance and claims professionals, this continued shift matters.

As technology becomes more integrated into farm operations, claims can involve more than traditional property damage. Modern agricultural losses may include questions involving precision equipment, software-supported systems, chemical application records, operator error, equipment valuation, documentation, liability concerns, and business interruption. A single piece of equipment may represent a significant investment, and the records tied to that equipment may become important during the claims review process.

Automation and precision agriculture may also affect how professionals evaluate causation, timelines, application decisions, maintenance, and loss documentation. As farms continue to modernize, understanding how these systems are used in daily operations can help claims professionals ask better questions and better evaluate the full picture of a loss.

The next generation of agriculture is not simply replacing the previous one. They are farming in a different environment, with different tools, higher costs, and new risks to manage.

For the ACA, stories like this are a reminder that agricultural claims education must continue to evolve alongside the industry itself. As farm operations change, the insurance and claims professionals serving them must continue learning, staying connected, and understanding the realities producers face in the field.

Source: InvestigateTV, “Next-generation farmers embrace technology to keep up with America’s demand for food production.”