From a resource standpoint, the important point of this comparison is that including the marginal external costs of production and allocating resources based on the full social cost results in a higher price for the good (Ps > Pp) and less output (Os < Op) than only including the private costs.
Today, the nation's farmers are 17 years older than the average American worker, with the ranks of farmers who are 75 years and up outnumbering those in their prime working years of 35 to 44. One big reason U.S. farmers are going gray: spiraling costs.
In 2012, the number of new farmers who have been on their current operation less than ten years was down 20 percent from 2007. Nearly 172,000 were on their current operation less than five years; this group was down 23 percent from 2007 (Table 7).