The most difficult part of successfully navigating your transition off of the farm into retirement is starting the process. The second hardest part is keeping the process going. Many farm business owners find that they too often start having discussions with their professional advisors regarding how to navigate this major life transition, only to get partially through before they hit a wall. Much like the cyclical farming nature of seeding, spraying, harvesting, repeat. Farmers find themselves trapped in an endless cycle. As a consequence, many farm business owners end up either paying too much tax, damaging family dynamics, or both.
We always hear that “Succession planning is a process, not an event” but many advisors treat it as an event driven process. Completing one time succession plans as a guideline to implement at a future date, with no action plan to implement, or the flexibility to adapt as circumstances change.
That is why we have created the Life After Harvest mentorship program. This serves as a program to not only educate farmers on their farm transition options, but to carefully plan for and implement these strategies over time alongside with them. This is accomplished through a concerted effort in order to bring all parties together who are responsible for ensuring the success of the transition, whether it is a farm succession or farm sale.