Family farms embarked on the succession planning process.
“Equipping Farm Families with Succession Planning Tools” supplied essential
resources to Pennsylvania farmers.
Four workshops equipped 105 farm family members with: communication skills,
financial planning worksheets, legal documents and tax implications, insights
from farm families who completed a farm succession. Farm families were provided
access to IFTN Certified Succession Coordinators to facilitate succession
planning meetings.
Workshop evaluations indicated 92% of the 105 workshop participants had moderate to considerable knowledge of the presented topics after the workshops, while 77% the same group reported minimal to moderate knowledge prior to the workshops. The highest degree of knowledge was gained in the legal and tax matters, followed by financials and communication and conflict management.
70 farm family members learned conflict management skills to utilize as a
result of the workshops. 70 participants established guidelines for farm family
meetings and 59 farm family members held farm family succession meetings during the workshop to discuss a challenge on the farm and potential solutions.
Poised with effective tools, farm families moved forward with farm family
meetings, the succession planning process and the intended goal of keeping the
farm in the family.