Survey of Young Farmers in Maryland and Delaware Using State Land Access Loans, 2011-2023

A 2023 survey of 59% of farmers enrolled in Maryland and Delaware's 0% interest loan programs between 2011 and 2023 describes farm characteristics and contributions to food systems. The dataset includes information on loan amounts, farm acreage, farmer demographics, and market participation. It was authored by Marie T. O'Neill and shared under a CC-BY-4.0 license.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the relationship between state loans and farmland purchases based on survey responses from enrolled farmers.
• Studying the demographic profile of supported farmers based on the reported median age and age distribution.
• Assessing contributions to local food systems based on the reported percentage of farms selling into direct or intermediated markets.
• Evaluating the impact of Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) programs on land protection based on described policy coupling.

Strengths

• Includes specific, quantified survey results such as a median loan amount of $235,000 and a median farmer age of 30.
• Provides confidence intervals for key findings, such as 56% of farmers stating they would not have purchased land without the loan.
• Focuses on a specific, emerging policy approach in two U.S. states, offering targeted evidence.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is small (303 KB), indicating limited scope and detail.

Provenance

Source

Marie T. O'Neill

Collection Method

Survey of farmers enrolled in state loan programs.

Time Range

2011-2023

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-28 04:43:20; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Maryland and Delaware, United States