Farms: New England farms are seeing a surge in younger farm hands as the 'buy local' food movement grows ac

VOICE-OVER: MEET THE FACE OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER -YOUNG, EAGER TO HELP AND WANTING TO LEARN. AS THE NUMBER OF FARMS HAS GROWN BY 5 PERCENT SINCE 2007, FARMS ACROSS THE REGION ARE SEEING SURGE IN YOUNGER GENERATIONS OF HELPING HANDS. YOUNG FARMERS LIKE CAROLINE, WHO GAVE UP HER NON-PROFIT JOB TO BECOME AN ASSISTANT FARM MANAGER, SAYS ITS THE DESIRE FOR INSTANT GRATIFCATION OF A HARD DAY'S WORK THAT IS SO APPEALING... SOUNDBITE (English) Caroline Roszell, Assistant farm manager: "I wanted to do something meaningful with my time and something that had very direct results. When I was doing nonprofit work, I felt that it took a lot longer to see the results of my labor, but in farming it's a very direct result - so, it's very satisfying. And you are tired at the end of the day, physically, which feels good." FARMERS AND INDUSTRY EXPERTS SAY THE POPULARITY OF THE 'BUY LOCAL' FOOD MOVEMENT HAS HELPED CREATE A NEW MARKET FOR NEWER, SMALLER FARMS THAT COMMUNITIES CAN EASILY ACCESS SOUNDBITE (English) John Gerber, Professor, University of Massachusetts-Amherst: "New England is going in the opposite direction of adding more farms, adding young people to farms and primarily in the area of small farms: organic farms, local farms working directly with customers, uh, bucking the national trend." BUT LIKE THE REAL WORLD, FARMING ALSO HAS ITS FRUSTRATIONS. SOUNDBITE (English) Kate Gervais, Police Dispatcher, Studying Sustainable farming: "You work so hard and I can't say that it's always easy and it has it's frustrating moments when the pump breaks or, you know, you � you have a lamb that you lose or something. Sometimes it's devastating but, still, you get to see � there's a very measurable sense of what you've accomplished." WHILE THE THOUGHT OF LEAVING A TRADITIONAL DESK JOB TO TAKE UP THE FARMING LIFE HAS ITS RISKS...FARMERS SAY ITS ONE THAT YOUNGER FOLKS ARE WILLING TO TAKE. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Barker-Plotkin, co-owner Simple Gifts Farm: "If there aren't, you know, the opportunity to get a real, you know, kind of standard �standard job where you go and � and, you know, punch your time card and get your � your paycheck, I think it makes � it makes riskier ventures a little more appealing." AND A VENTURE WITH UNLIMITED GROWTH POTENTIAL. SIGOUT - Emily Roseman, Associated Press You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/fbddc4f78be522d66f6fa1e17788d174 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork