For generations, the success of rural America was measured by the strength of its farms. If agriculture was doing well, local businesses prospered, schools were full, churches were active, and Main Street storefronts were bustling with activity. Farming was the economic engine that powered nearly every aspect of community life.

Today, agriculture is still one of America's greatest success stories. Farmers produce more food, fiber, and fuel than ever before, using fewer people, fewer inputs per unit of production, and increasingly sophisticated technology. U.S. agriculture continues to be among the most efficient in the world.

But despite this amazing success, many rural communities are struggling. We see it across North Dakota, as well as in other agricultural states in the region, as these communities face an aging population and changing demographics. Looking ahead, rural America faces the question of how to thrive when modern agriculture simply requires far fewer people.

The Paradox of Modern Agriculture

Modern farming is extraordinarily productive. It’s American free enterprise, capitalism and entrepreneurship at its finest. Today's agriculture producers operate equipment capable of planting or harvesting hundreds of acres in a single day. GPS guidance, drones, artificial intelligence, automation, improved genetics and larger machinery have transformed agriculture into one of the world's most technologically advanced industries.

The result is a tremendous success story, yes, but one with unintended consequences. Because as farms become more efficient, fewer people are needed to produce the nation's food supply. The land remains productive and the farms remain profitable, but the surrounding community often becomes smaller.

A township (36 square miles) that once supported 30 or 40 farm families may now have fewer than half that number farming essentially the same amount of land. One operation is likely managing the acres that previously supported several families.

We can see this playing out through a couple of key statistics. First, according to the USDA, the non-metro or rural population in 2024 was approximately 46 million people – or 13.6% of the overall population. In 1970, it was estimated that about 60 million folks fit into this category, or about 30% of the overall population at the time.

Not surprisingly, this trend aligns with the overall number of farms in the U.S. In 1960, there were nearly 4 million farms in the country. In 2025, there were 1.865 million, according to the USDA – a 53% reduction overall.

As an example, much of the farmland my wife and I own is in Benson County, located in central North Dakota. Our home township, West Antelope, has so few farms and people left that just about every resident is needed to fill the required township offices. There’s not a lot of campaigning going on at election and annual meeting time, which is often held in one of the township residents’ homes.

A Ripple Effect of an Aging Rural Population

A second important stat concerning rural America is age. The average American farmer is now approaching 60 years of age, with many landowners older still – on average, about a decade older. During the next two decades, this generation will pass on its wealth to the next generation. Some of that wealth will stay in the community, but much of it will likely leave.

Interestingly, one of the biggest misconceptions about rural America is that declining population means declining wealth. On the contrary, there’s probably more wealth in rural America than ever before. Farmland values have appreciated dramatically over the past several decades. Equipment fleets represent millions of dollars in investment, and successful operations often generate significant cash flow.

Yet wealth and population are not the same thing. A community can contain millions of dollars in agricultural assets while simultaneously losing school enrollment, healthcare services, young families and retail businesses. Economists sometimes describe this phenomenon as "wealth without people."

As that wealth is passed on to the next generation, many heirs will continue owning farmland but may not live where that land is located. Instead, rental income may flow hundreds or even thousands of miles away from the local economy. When this happens, the community loses not only residents but volunteers, civic leaders, school families, church members and future entrepreneurs.

These changes will have – and in fact already have had – ripple effects through our rural communities. In the past, farm families have supported grocery stores, hardware stores, equipment dealerships, veterinarians, accountants, banks, schools, restaurants, churches, fuel suppliers, local contractors and countless other local businesses. When there are fewer families, every one of those businesses feels the impact and struggles to remain viable.

The Challenge for Community Leadership

Faced with these changes, community leaders often ask a tough question: "How do we attract young families back to rural America?"

There’s no easy answer, and agriculture alone can’t accomplish that goal. Because of large and efficient equipment and automation, modern agriculture needs fewer people than ever. Instead, successful rural communities understand that agriculture must remain the foundation, but perhaps not the only economic pillar.

It doesn’t have to be all gloom and doom for rural America. There are many examples of communities that continue to grow, and they typically share several similar characteristics, including manufacturing employers, healthcare services, an embrace of tourism, recreation, outdoor amenities and local quality of life. And, above all, they’re a great place to raise a family.

The communities most likely to thrive will focus on becoming places where people choose to live, not simply places where people work. That means investing in high-speed internet, quality schools, healthcare access, childcare, housing, recreation, and vibrant downtowns.

It means encouraging and embracing entrepreneurship as enthusiastically as recruiting large employers. It means helping young families envision a future in rural America, and being an open-minded and welcoming neighbor, willing to lend a hand when needed.

Support of local businesses will also be key, even if that might mean paying a few dollars more for goods and services. And for those businesses themselves, they’ll need to work harder and go that extra mile to earn business from area residents. Merely having a business in a rural community isn’t an entitlement for residents to support.

Success for these rural communities may also mean recognizing that retirees, remote workers and small business owners can become just as valuable to community vitality as traditional agricultural employers.

Additionally, one of agriculture's greatest strengths may become one of rural America's greatest opportunities: Consumers today want to know where their food comes from. Communities that can capitalize on these changing consumer preferences can generate entirely new sources of economic activity.

None of these changes will happen on their own. They will require strong local leadership and institutions committed to the long-term success of their communities.

Strong Community Banks Will Play a Role

Community banks in particular will play an important role in the health of rural America moving forward. These institutions are often deeply woven into the social fabric of their communities. Bank owners and leaders live locally and interact with residents at school events, churches and around town. They have their fingers on the pulse of the community.

Community banks help finance farms, businesses, schools, churches and community projects. They often serve as partners in economic development efforts and provide leadership during periods of transition and change.

As consolidation continues throughout the banking industry, preserving local decision-making becomes increasingly important. Healthy community banks can take the lead and become catalysts for healthy communities, helping young entrepreneurs obtain financing, encouraging business expansion, supporting housing development, and providing leadership during periods of economic transition.

What’s Next?

It’s easy to focus on the challenges facing rural America, and they are real. The reality is that some communities will continue to struggle as they confront aging populations, labor shortages, succession planning challenges, healthcare access, school enrollment declines and business consolidation.

But rural America has reinvented itself before. Railroads transformed agriculture, rural electrification changed communities forever, mechanization reshaped farming, and the internet connected isolated communities to global markets. Looking ahead, artificial intelligence and automation will likely become the next chapter.

Throughout each transformation, the communities that survived were the ones with selfless leaders and cheerleaders to show the way, who were willing to adapt while preserving the values that made them unique.

And maybe that’s the lesson for today: The future of rural America will not be determined solely by commodity prices, cattle markets or interest rates, but whether communities can continue investing in people as aggressively as agriculture has invested in productivity. The next challenge is ensuring that fewer people doesn’t also mean fewer opportunities, fewer vibrant communities and fewer reasons for the next generation to call rural America home.

The future of rural America will be shaped by the choices communities make today to innovate, collaborate, welcome new ideas and build places where the next generation wants not only to farm, but to live, work, raise a family and lead. It won’t be easy – nothing of lasting value ever is. But if those choices are made wisely, rural America can remain not only relevant, but indispensable to the nation's economy, culture and future.

This article was published in the Q3 2026 issue of our AgViews newsletter.