High start-up costs are keeping young people out of New Brunswick's farming industry, say farming advocates.

The median age of farmers in New Brunswick has risen from 50 to 58 in the last decade.

"If you are talking about infrastructure, that gets pretty pricey," said Jon Stockall, the New Brunswick representative on the Canadian Young Farmers' Forum, which works to solve problems encountered by young people in farming.

"And then all the equipment that goes along with it. And then the markets that you are trying to sell to are difficult," he said.

Beth McMahon, executive director of the Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network, said student loans make the ups and downs of farming problematic.

"They need the steady income from a year-round conventional job," she said.

Stockall says the loss of nutrient-rich farmland to development is also an issue.

McMahon and Stockall agree that the solution is education. They say exposing kids to farming and agriculture in the school system would generate more interest in farming as a career.