You’ve worked hard to keep your farm alive. You’re proud of it. It’s like a child to you. And, like any child, you think about its future. You want what’s best for it, and you want to ensure it will be in safe hands after you’re gone. This farm is your legacy. It is years […]
Category: Succession Planning
“10% of Farmland Expected to be Transferred by 2019.” This is the title of an article on the Wisconsin Ag Connection website that points out the overall advanced age of U.S. farmers. Approximately a third reached the age of 65 in 2014. By 2019 farmland owners are projected to transfer 93 million acres, mostly though […]
The farm is not only a homestead, but a living heritage and a coveted inheritance. It is something that many of you were given as a birthright and you probably plan on giving it to your own children in turn. As times, customs, and priorities change over each generation, the older farmers sometimes struggle to […]
It’s never too soon to decide who will care for the family farm when you are ready to pass the torch to the next generation. Unfortunately, it is a conversation all to often postponed until it’s too late. A recent article on estate planning notes that, “Individuals put off estate planning because they think they don’t own […]
Handing down the family farm through the generations has been a long-honored tradition for many families across the United States. It offers a nostalgic image that at one time could be considered living the American dream. Nowadays, though, there are indications that this isn’t happening as often as it used to. The simple fact of […]
There is always work to be done on the family farm, which makes estate planning a priority when leaving the farm to a loved one. When someone passes away, one’s possessions and property are distributed during probate. A court oversees this process that can take anywhere from 3 months to years to conclude, and complications […]
It’s a common tradition in the farming industry that estates are passed down within the family to continue production for upcoming generations. It used to be as simple as signing over the deed to your children, and then they simply took over. Today, however, with the numerous estate laws now in place, retiring farmers need […]
Farming families are built tough and ready to handle the changing seasons and all the challenges the world can throw at them. You want to keep the farm in the family long after your retirement, cultivating a family farm that continues to pass down through the generations. In some cases, however, you may struggle to […]
“It’s not what you have when you leave this world behind you… it’s what you leave behind you when you go.” – Randy Travis The fresh morning air, the way that the grass always feels wet right before the sun comes up even when it’s not raining and the clean smell of harvest and happiness […]
Keeping a farm in the family through several generations takes good planning, excellent communication and more than a little bit of luck. Often succession planning is not considered early enough by either generation. Often, families “talk”, but not about the business of the farm and it’s future. Fathers do not know if their offspring are […]
