This is due to the demographic crunch. There are just fewer young people to go around.

Less choices from smaller trade focused colleges like the one in the article will focus into larger city focused colleges.

The article is talking about a farming specific school that was small and hands on. Some tasks can be learned in a trade school, but stuff like running a farm will be learned from family, or in places like this.

So you’ll have to be born into it or be wealthy enough to go to a top tier school to run a farm. Now working on the farm would be a trade.