Farms are doing all they can in this world today to stay on solid ground.

And to also encourage younger people to work in agriculture.

Retired agriculture broadcaster Max Armstrong talked with WTKM about what many family farms do to survive and thrive.

"In these tough commodity markets, I think sometimes it's tougher to encourage young people to return to the family farm. Many farmers consider some kind of side hustle during times like this, to add income. Recently, I went to a farm show and was visiting with a farm couple. They told me they have a trucking business, with twenty trucks that works hand in hand to help support the income. 

The need to offset profitability and secure health insurance, and manage the high cost of production makes it important for farm survival.

FarmProgress reports that half of America's farmers work a job off the farm, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It's happening more frequently, in fact, working off the farm has grown significantly over the last 75 years, according to a report by the USDA's Economic Research Service.