Article

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.