When the 77-year-old patriarch of a centuries-old New Jersey farm died in early August, more than 1,300 people commented beneath a Facebook post announcing the passing of the eighth-generation farmer.

Many said Hunter’s Farm and Market, the family business John Hunter took over decades ago, was an integral part of their life. It was where their family bought corn, tomatoes and green beans every summer, and where some learned how to do “hard work” during part-time high school jobs.

Hunter’s son, also named John Hunter, said his father’s death , caused by a “mechanical accident,” put the family in “an unfortunate club.” With nearly 40% of all farmland across the country now owned by farmers over the age of 65, it’s a club quickly gaining membership – and raising alarm bells.

As the av

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