Generational Transition Program

My Sweat, Your Equity

When physical jobs become a burden, ranchers may look to add the next generation to the operation.  Their enthusiastic energy is welcomed and needed to keep the ranch up and running. 

However, are these young folks being compensated for “their sweat” when it is “your equity”?

Do you think the homeowners flipping houses would invest their time and labor for free into someone else’s home?  No, I think not.  Why do we expect our returning ranchers to invest their labor for free (or almost free) on the ranch? 

Family-First Business or Business-First Family, Which are You?

Jolene Brown, family business consultant, says there are two kinds of family farms.  The family-first business and the business-first family.  Below is a summary of Brown’s articles on the two types.

Family-First Business: Bases decisions on emotions or what family members want to.  Majority of the times, these decisions leads to problems, first within the family, then in the business.

Business-First Family: Decisions are grounded upon a mutual mission, written goals, legal documents, and quality communication.  Family is honored and the business has the family’s best interest at heart.

“Remember when we put the business first because we care about the family.  If we do the business well, we are more productive and more profitable and everyone more happy,” states Brown.

FREE LEGAL & FINANCIAL CLINICS IN AUGUST

Farmers and Ranchers: Locations for August's free legal and financial clinics are here!  The clinics are one-on-one meetings with an Ag Law Attorney and an Ag Financial counselor.

These are not group sessions, and they are confidential.  The attorney and financial advisor specialize in legal and financial issues related to farming and ranching, including financial and business planning, transition planning, farm loan programs, debtor/creditor law, debt structure and cash flow, agricultural disaster programs, and other relevant matters.  To sign up for a clinic or for more information, call the Rural Response Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.

New Location for Generational Transition Workshop (and Grazing Conference) in Kearney!

As a result of the recent flooding in Kearney, the location of the Nebraska Grazing Conference and the NGLC Generational Transition Workshop has moved to the Buffalo County Fairgrounds.

The NGLC Generational Transition Workshop will be held Tuesday evening, August 13^th, from 6-9 pm CT during the Nebraska Grazing Conference.  The workshop will be held at the Extension Office (1400 E. 34^th Street, Kearney, NE), just across from the Exhibition Building where the Grazing Conference will be held. 

The workshop will include a producer panel and experienced estate and transition attorney, Pamela Olsen.

Practice the “Young Shuffle”

Progression, not to be confused with perfection, is simply defined as “moving forward or onward,” or better yet, “happening or developing gradually or in stages; proceeding step by step.”

And I wondered, “How many of us stop (or never start) working on ranch transition because the plan lacks perfection?”

When I think of ranch transition, I prefer the definition of progression, where planning and transition is developed gradually in stages.  Step by step.  Broken down into manageable bits and pieces.

I think of the “Young Shuffle.”

Cliff Young, a retired potato farmer, unexpectedly won the 1983 Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon at age 61. 

What Does Your Ranch Look Like in 40 Years?

     My great-great grandparents homesteaded on the tall-grass prairie.  The story goes the grass was so tall, they had to sit in the wagon to see where they were going.  Granted, my ancestors were little, short Europeans, but I often wonder what they saw from that wagon perch, and what visions played in their minds. 

     Could they imagine 250 bushel corn growing in the black earth harvested by machinery bigger than their first home?  What did they see from the wooden seat of the jolting wagon?  Did they see their great-grandson farming the same soil a hundred year later?

    Now I ask you this- Does your estate plan align with your future ranch dream?

The Bully on the Farm

So, what happens when spoiled farm children don’t get what they want?  In the worst-case scenarios, adult children can begin acting like spoiled two-year-olds, throwing fits and demanding what they want.  The parents may cave into the spoiled adult children’s actions, allowing the destructive behavior to continue.

Read the summary of Elaine Froese's article “Stop Temper Tantrums from Spoiled Farm Children”. 

First Step: Gather Information

Many farmers and ranchers do not have a will or a completed estate plan.  The incomplete nature of the legal documents is understandable, as estate and transition planning is “like eating an elephant.”

How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.

Ranchers Share Their Transition Story

    The Generational Transition workshop combined the knowledge of producers who understand the emotional, financial, and legal considerations of ranch transition, and the legal considerations from an experienced estate planning attorney.  The workshop was held on June 11^th at the West Central Research and Extension Center hosted by the Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition (NGLC) and Nebraska Extension.  A producer panel shared their personal experiences of transitioning, as well as an experienced attorney who shared legal tools to help with families transition to the next generation