VOA慢速英语:美国农民面孔的变化

Changing Face of the American Farmer

美国农民面孔的变化

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

Have you ever wondered what the average American farmer looks like? A new report says he is a 58-year-old white man. That information comes from the United States Census Bureau, a government agency that collects and studies information about the nation's population and economy.

你是否曾想过美国普通农民的模样?一份新的报告称，他是58岁的白人男子。该信息来自美国人口普查局，这是一家政府机构，负责收集和研究本国有关人口和经济的信息。

The report also says farmers 65 and older are the fastest growing population group. As these farmers retire, American agriculture will experience big changes. The report suggests what some of those changes might look like and why they might not be so bad.

该报告还表示，65岁及以上农民是增长最快的人群。随着这些农民退休，美国农业将面临巨大变化。该报告显示了可能都有哪些变化，以及为何这些变化不会那么糟糕。

Adrienne Gibson works a small piece of land in the rolling north of Knoxville, Tennessee. She is something of a new face in American agriculture. First of all, she is a woman. And secondly, she is a minority, and she is succeeding in an industry controlled mostly by white men.

艾德丽安·吉布森(Adrienne Gibson)在田纳西州的诺克斯维尔市起伏的北部种了一小片地。她是美国农业中出现的新面孔。首先她是女性，其次她是少数民族。而且她在主要由白人男子控制的这一行业取得了成功。

But the Census Bureau report suggests that may be changing. The number of minority farmers working American soil is growing, and fast. The report also suggests that U.S. farms are getting smaller.

但美国人口普查局的报告表明，这一切可能会改变。少数民族农民种地的数量正在不断快速增长。该报告还表明，美国农场越来越小。

Adrienne Gibson earns money by using a Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, model of farming. As a CSA farmer, she raises food for a handful of buyers who agree to pay her before her crops are ready.

吉布森采用社区支持农业(简称CSA)这种耕种模式赚钱。作为一位社区支持农业的农民，她为少数买家提供食物，这些买家同意在作物收获前给她付款。

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

吉布森说，“我们有23家社区支持农业的客户。他们同意支持农场。作为回报，他们从5月到10月每周都能得到一篮子蔬菜。”

Nate Phillips teaches farming at Middle Tennessee State University. He says smaller farms are partly a reaction to changes in the way Americans think about their food.

内特·菲利普斯(Nate Phillips)在中田纳西州州立大学教授农业。他说小型农场部分是应对美国人对食物看法的改变。

"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.

菲利普斯说，“人们对食物来自何处，质量如何等越来越感兴趣。我认为我们将会继续看到这种增长。”

This movement is often called farm to table, it means that more Americans are starting to buy food that is grown locally. And they want to know exactly where their food is coming from. Nate Phillips adds that more younger people are entering farming because of this trend.

这种运动通常被称为从农场到餐桌。它意味着越来越多美国人开始购买当地种植的食物。他们想确切知道食物来自哪里。菲利普斯补充说，由于这种趋势，越多越多年轻人进入农业。

"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," Phillips said.

菲利普萨说，“我看到很多来自纳什维尔市或一些城市的学生进入农业，他们并不是在农业环境中长大，也不具备农业背景，但却拥有这样的兴趣。”

Nate Phillips thinks it is good that the people who grow food are beginning to look more like the people who eat it.

菲利普萨认为，粮食种植者和食用者开始趋于同化是件好事。

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

菲利普斯说，“这反映出了我们的大众社会，也反映出了我们身边的社区。我认为这对农业来说是件大好事。”

And that's the Agriculture Report, I'm Anna Matteo.

以上就是本期农业报道的全部内容，我是安娜·马特奥(Anna Matteo)。