Nebraska is trying to reduce the financial hurdles in place for beginning farmers.

It's all part of the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act. According to the State Department of Agriculture, the program is still underutilized

Under the Nebraska sun, young farmers like 27-year-old Todd Reed continue the tradition of farming. But with the average age of Nebraska farmers at 53.9 years old, Reed is a minority.

"With our culture that style of 'I want it now, I want it now, I want it now,' people don't want to get back into agriculture because it's too much work," he said.

Reed hopes to one day have his own farm.

"It's a lot of work and a lot of hours, but if we didn't love what we did, we wouldn't be doing it," he said.

Right now, Reed works on a farm outside of Waverly with 4,500 acres of wheat, corn and soy. But getting into farming from scratch is no small feat.

"It's very very difficult to start up a farm -- to get the land and the machinery. It's almost financially impossible unless you have a dad or somebody in the family to help you out," said Rob Robertson, Nebraska Farm Bureau.

That's why nearly 10 years ago, the state legislature passed the beginning farmer tax credit act, which offers tax credits for landowners who rent their land to beginning farmers.

"If anything else, it makes us more competitive when we're at a disadvantage, when we don't have the capital backing that a lot of established producers do, and it gives us a better chance to get into agriculture," Reed said. It gives them a better chance while making sure Nebraska has a new generation of farmers.

Young farmers can now apply to have their taxes waived on some farm equipment they own. That's in addition to tax credits for land owners.

State agriculture officials say Nebraska and Iowa are the only two states to offer any kind of tax credit to land owners.