What does the future of the farm look like when the older generation is no longer a part of what happens day to day?
It is one of the most difficult conversations, but one of the most important ones for a farm family to have.
What does the future of the farm look like when the older generation is no longer a part of what happens day to day?
For years, my dad told my brothers and me that one day the farm would be ours and he would make sure that happened. His well-intentioned plans were not put in writing for some time, until he learned about Nationwide’s Land As Your Legacy transition plans. He attended sessions about the program at an Ohio Farm Bureau annual meeting and an American Farm Bureau convention and the notes he took helped him understand what he needed to do in order to make what he had in mind for the future of our farm actually happen.
My siblings and I didn’t like to think about our farm without Dad at the helm, but we had many of these uncomfortable conversations just before he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. In the blink of an eye, the arrangements that we had discussed as a result of those difficult talks with Dad needed to be put into action.
Although our succession plan helped us through that emotional time for our family, not putting Dad’s ideas together until the last minute did make things more stressful than if we had developed a strategy for the farm sooner.
We thank God for giving Dad the time to figure out what he wanted the future of the farm to look like. Many families don’t get that opportunity.
My advice to farm families when it comes to succession planning? Don’t wait too long. If you truly want your farm to be your legacy, make it clear to the next generation what needs to be done when changes happen.
You will be reading about succession planning from every angle in this issue. Using free services like Land As Your Legacy will begin the process of developing a transition plan focused on helping you protect the future for your business and your family. Take it from me: Starting the conversation is a challenge. So many times it isn’t miscommunication, but lack of communication that causes a family and the farm to fall apart when a path forward isn’t laid out for everyone involved.
A transition plan will help you ensure that your (and your family’s) wishes are met, emotional stress is minimized, and financial risks and opportunities are addressed.
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The group can help with farm transitions, farm lease agreements, land use zoning issues and farm business consultation.
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What does the future of the farm look like when the older generation is no longer a part of what happens day to day?
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American Farmland Trust hopes its new national program, Land Transfer Navigators, will protect family farms and stem the flow of farmland to nonagricultural uses.
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The Wetherell family is planning for the future of their farm while simultaneously making sure its current needs are met, with the help of Illumination Financial Group.
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Trevor German is the first beginning farmer to complete a transaction through the new Ohio Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program.
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It was the fervent wish of Ron and Denny Smith’s father, Forest, that the original Smith Family Farms in Ashland County, stay in the family.
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Brown was the keynote speaker at the 2024 Winter Leadership Experience. Her focus is on helping families learn what it takes to transition the farm to the next generation.
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Andy ‘Caygeon’ Junkin is helping many farms by doing the heavy lifting for weighty succession conversations. Junkin is widely recognized as the leading expert on farm succession and farm debt turnarounds.
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Alisha Morgan is passionate about succession planning because without that plan in place, the emotional and financial tolls that came their family’s way could have resulted in the loss of their farm.
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