VOA常速英语2014--Face of American Farmer Changing 面对美国农民的变化

Face of American Farmer Changing 面对美国农民的变化

TENNESSEE — The average American farmer is now 58 years old, and farmers 65 and older are the fastest growing segment 1 of the population. It’s a troubling trend signaling big changes ahead for American agriculture as aging farmers retire. A new report from the U.S. Census 2 Bureau is suggesting what some of those changes might look like and why they might not be so troubling.

田纳西——现在美国农民的平均年龄是58岁，且65岁以上的农民在人口中发展最快。随着老年农民退休，对于美国农业来说这是一个预示着有重大变化的令人困扰的趋势。美国人口普查局的新报告显示其中一些可能的变化，这些变化可能并不是那么让人困扰。

Adrienne Gibson works a small plot of land in the rolling hills north of Knoxville, Tennessee. She’s something of a novelty 3 in American agriculture. Female and a minority, Gibson is succeeding in an industry dominated 4 by white men.

Adrienne Gibson在田纳西州Knoxville县北部绵延起伏的山丘上一小块土地上工作。她是美国农业中一个新奇的事物。她作为一个女性和少数派，在白种男人占大多数的工业中成功了。

Gibson makes a living from her tiny operation by using the Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, model of farming. She raises food for a handful of contract customers who pay in advance.

Gibson靠通过使用农业模型——农业支持团体（或CSA）的经营为生。她为预先付款的客户增长粮食。

“We have 23 CSA customers. They subscribe 5 to supporting the farm, and in return they get a weekly basket of vegetables from May through October," said Gibson.

Gibson说：“我们有23个CSA客户。他们同意看管农田，并从5月到10月他们每周得到一篮子蔬菜作为回报。”

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggests the number of minority farmers working American soil is expanding rapidly. The data also suggests U.S. farms are getting smaller.

美国人口普查局新的数据显示，占大多数的在农民的数量在快速扩张。数据也显示出美国的农田在变得更小。

Nate Phillips, who teaches horticulture at Middle Tennessee State University, says smaller farms are, in part, a reaction to changes in the way Americans think about their food.

在中级田纳西州大学教园艺的Nate Phillips说，某种程度上，更小的农田是美国人思考他们食物的方式的改变的一种反应。

“There’s growing interest in where our food is coming from, what is the food quality, things like that. I think we’ll continue to see that increase," said Phillips.

“人们对于我们的食物从哪里来，食物的质量如何和其它类似的事情变得越来越感兴趣。我觉得我们将继续看到这种增长”。Phillips说。

Phillips says the interest in where food comes from is also attracting more young people into farming.

Phillips说人们对于食物从哪来感兴趣也吸引了更多的年轻人投身农业。

“I’m seeing a lot more students from Nashville, or the cities, that are coming in that didn’t grow up around agriculture, weren’t from an agricultural background, but had that interest," he said.

“我看着许多从Nashville来的学生或者从没有在农业中成长或者没有农业背景的城市来的学生对此感兴趣”他说。

Just a few years ago, hog 6 farmer Brandon Whitt was one of those young students. His family’s thousand hectare, heavily-mechanized operation dwarfs 7 Adrienne Gibson’s tiny farm, but he’s quickly adapting to the same customer trends. Rather than sell his hogs 8 to commercial packers, he sells them to his neighbors.

只是短短的几年前，猪农Brandon Whitt就是那些年轻学生中的一个。

“We actually take that one step further and actually have the meat processed and sell it directly off the farm, here through our retail 9 store and to local restaurants and grocery stores," said Whitt.

“我们实际上把那一步走的更远，实际上我们把肉进行加工，然后在农场直接卖掉，从这里直接到零售店、当地的饭店和超市。” Whitt说。

Whitt says consumers need to know, not just how their food is produced, but about some of the challenges farmers face putting it on their tables.

Whitt说，客户需要知道的，不仅仅是他们的食物是如何生产的，而且也包括农民把食物放到他们桌上所面临的机遇。

“Teaching consumers about where that food comes from, and quite honestly just how hard it is to get it there at the end of the day," he said.

“教客户食物从哪里来，真诚的告知他们在每天结束时得到食物是多么的困难。”他说。

Nate Phillips considers it a positive development that the people who grow the food are beginning to look more like the people who consume the food.

Nate Phillips认为生产食物的人越来越像消费食物的人，这是一个良性发展。

“I think that’s great. It reflects our general society. It reflects what our communities are like around us, and I think that’s a great thing for agriculture," he said.

“我认为这相当好！这反映了我们普通的社会。这反映了我们身边的组织是怎么样的。我觉得对于农业而言这是一件好事。”他说。

There's one trend that every American farmer can be pleased about. Census data shows that the value of the food they produce rose more than 25 percent in just six years.

有一个趋势是每个没有农民都乐意的。人口普查数据显示，在未来6年内，他们的食物产值将增长超过25%。