A startling fact emerged the last time the government counted America's farmers, a fact that spurred worry about the country's food future.
The group of farmers who were 65 and older swelled to about 823,000, up 22 percent from 2002, according to the USDA's 2007 agriculture census.
When they retired, who would grow the food or fiber they produced to fill the shelves at the grocery store or racks at the mall? Did the country have enough young farmers to take their place?