The Next Ten Years: Farm & Ranch Transitions

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Today's farmers and ranchers are aging, and within the next 10 years, many operations will be changing hands. Keep Farmers Farming Director and Legacy Consultant Alan Hojer explains most primary operators are in their late 50s to late 60s, and within a decade will most likely be handing off the reins.

“Now either they're going to reach out for help because Keep Farmers Farming is there to help you through the most difficult thing you may ever go through in your life and farm or ranch transition, or it'll simplify because we lost the next generation. But I will tell you, it'll all come to a head at some point. And so you have a choice,” shares Hojer.

Farm by farm, this transition will occur, and those left standing will be the ones which understood the complexities of their business and planned for its transition. At the inception of Keep Farmers Farming a decade ago, Hojer spent the majority of his time in estate planning with farmers and ranchers. But today's greater focus is transitioning, bringing a new generation into leadership. He believes the younger generation is waiting for this to happen.

But Hojer says for many older producers, that window for transitioning is closing.

“The greatest gift that you can give to your children is the transparency of information, communication, and talk. Talk the problem, work it through, and give yourself a Christmas present and reach out to Keep Farmers Farming because that's what we're here to do,” says Hojer.

It all starts with a cup of coffee at your kitchen table and a conversation with Hojer and his team. Keep Farmers Farming is a division of the South Dakota Agriculture Foundation.

Learn more about the Keep Farmers Farming program here.

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