Finding a Common Vision for the Future

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION HERE

Transitioning a farm or ranch to the next generation can be challenging if the family doesn’t share a common vision for the future. It starts with the senior generation leading the narrative and building a plan that supports this vision.

Keep Farmers Farming Legacy Consultant Shannon Kubik compares the family to a tree and its branches, “When the parents then pass, the kids then all split off into their own trees and then they own lead their own visions for their individual families, their family units. And so as we're thinking about transition planning, it's really important that we think about not only the vision of the parents and what they want for that operation, but each individual child and their families and what their vision is as well.”

Keep Farmers Farming connects with all direct family members to explore their hopes and dreams for the future, as most parents wish to support the vision of all their adult children if possible.

“We talk to all of the children and their spouses. It's really important to talk to that full family unit to understand what their vision is for their family. And then we just take that back to the parents and share that with them and really give that to the parents to think about and have more discussions with their children to make decisions on how they want to move forward with that,” shared Kubik.

Legacy Consultants may suggest options for positive transitions, but the families make the decisions which are right for them.

These conversations can be difficult, says Kubik, but she finds families tend to open up more easily with a third party as it’s a safe place to share. These conversations can enhance relationships within the family due to greater understanding and ultimately give them peace.

Learn more about the Keep Farmers Farming program here.

Taken from a conversation with Pam Geppert from Dakota Farm Talk.