The Pace of Farm Transition
Passing down the farm or ranch to the next generation is a dream many families hold close. But when it's your land, your legacy, and your life's work, the path forward can feel overwhelming. Keep Farmers Farming Legacy Consultant Alan Hojer says one of the biggest challenges is simply finding the right pace.
“It’s very common for the younger generation to move it along very quickly. And at the same time, the heavy lifting is on the older generation. They're the ones having to let go,” Hojer shares.
The Keep Farmers Farming Legacy Team walks alongside families through every step of that journey. Hojer says it's natural for the next generation to want things to move quickly, but patience and empathy matter.
“And as the older generation, we have to remind them every once in a while that it's very important that you're giving information to the next generation so they can plan. That's the way a successful process works. So sometimes we've got to speed somebody up and sometimes we have to slow somebody down. But as a third party, we can do that,” he says.
There's no one-size-fits-all transition plan. Every operation, every family dynamic, every hope for the future is different. Still, most families can expect the full process to take around 18 months.
“So there's a financial piece to that as well, to teach them how to use the entity, to teach them how structure communication. There's so many pieces to it,” shares Hojer.
Setting the right pace isn't always easy, but you don't have to navigate it alone. Keep Farmers Farming is here to help families protect their legacy and move forward with confidence.
Learn more about the Keep Farmers Farming program here.
Taken from a conversation with Pam Geppert from Dakota Farm Talk.