Ed Kee is the former Delaware Secretary of agriculture and perhaps one of the most profound influencers on Delaware agriculture to date, his work helped initiate farm programs and bring a processing company to the state.

The Young Farmer’s Program offers a 30-year, no-interest loan to help young farmers between the age of 18 to 40 years old purchase farmland. This opportunity works to minimize arguably one of the greatest limiting factors in farming. As someone who dreams of someday operating my own cattle ranch in Montana, I can’t help but be fascinated by the opportunities in my home state. In fact, Ed Kee explained that 41% of Delaware is farmland where 24% of the land is permanently preserved farmland through the AgLand Preservation Program. Urbanization and urban sprawl are major challenges facing Delaware agriculture, however, this program gives the opportunity to farmers that enroll their land to permanently ensure the land stay in production even if they choose to sell the land.