Recently, I participated in an AgvisorPro webinar looking at the risk factors in farm transition. Dean Klippenstine, a partner and agriculture business advisor with the accounting firm MNP in Regina, Sask., was another one of the speakers, and something he said really hit me: “I’d rather have really good management than lots of old money for a great transition.”
As the mom to a young successor and wife to a very ambitious, determined and successful seed grower, who is wired to get tasks done, I know it can be an interesting journey to graciously let go of control and mentor the next manager of your farm business.
I have deep respect for the wisdom Dick Wittman has brought to agriculture over the past 40 years. I recommend checking out his digital farm management manual at wittmanconsulting.com which has some valuable insights on farm transition planning. It includes some key questions for potential farm managers — my thoughts on those questions are below.
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What are your long-term goals related to a working career on the farm?
You want to embrace passion and desire for the long haul of farming. The past five years have been golden ones for many, yet we are now in a new zone of expensive equipment, tough fertilizer prices, rising interest rates and high land costs. Where is the positivity to find opportunity in tough financial cycles? Are you willing to keep a long view and get good at your financial skills in your career? How much financial transparency is there between the generations?
How do you feel you are progressing toward those goals?
A farming year whizzes by, and each day has new challenges. If you are like my son, a young father with children, you feel the real pull to be present for family and the push to keep on task in a timely fashion with farm demands. This polarity is a problem that is never going away and will always have to be managed. On our farm the founder, who is stepping back without stepping away, asks the new manager every morning, “How can I help today? What do we need to get done?” Part of the culture of respect and understanding between father and son is knowing a task-oriented person like the founder may see things differently from the new manager who is more people and relationship focused.
What strengths do you have that you feel are not being utilized to their fullest potential?
Do you even know what your strengths are? Our coaching team uses the personal style indicator (PSI), an online tool for discovering how you are wired for task, people, details and influence. This assessment really helps folks work from their strengths. I have never done the farm books and never will. My strength is people and influence, so my skills are suited for other jobs.
What do you need to be more empowered to do your current job?
Many young farmers tell me they just would love to have their voices and opinions heard and respected by founders. I think founders would make a lot of headway with grooming the next generation if they learned to recognize the opinions of young farmers and offered respect for their innovative ideas. If your successor has a communication style centered around ideas like our son does, you need to give them time to go on tangents and explain the “why” behind their next innovation for progress. On our farm, we dug an irrigation reservoir and installed a quarter section of tile drainage in 2022, and there’s more to come to make our land more productive. We don’t plan on buying more land. This process has been long and arduous with the politics of water in Manitoba, yet it strengthened the resolve and negotiation skills of the next generation when both the founder and successor collaborated on their approach to overcoming obstacles.
What are you looking for in a leadership structure as the current CEO transitions out of this role?
Being clear about roles and responsibilities for each generation is life-changing when you know what is expected. For example, Wittman’s daughter Cori Wittman Stitt has taken over as CEO of his business, Wittman Farms. Wittman says he still calls the shots on the logging division of Wittman Farms because no one else wanted that role. He also uses a board of advisors as part of the decision-making structure at Wittman Farms. Have you introduced your successor to the financial planner, coach, broker, marketer, accountant and lawyer who advise you on running your farm business? These advisory relationships can be developed early. I know one farm family who takes their teenager with them to the accountant as part of his learning plan.
What can we do to improve communications and teamwork?
We can all be curious and be better listeners. The fastest way to get things done is to have a designated time blocked off for farm family business meetings with a clear agenda. The mantra of a great business is to focus and execute. When will you be meeting to attack the issues keeping your farm stuck?
What frustrations have you encountered with the transition process?
Procrastination and conflict avoidance come to mind. Putting things off because you just don’t know where to start or are unsure of the next steps is not helping you. Conflict can be resolved when you learn how to use your intentions, actions and responses to be clear and create solutions. A culture of managers who are clear with their values of honesty, integrity, teamwork and accountability is a joy to work with and will attract new workers. Our coaching team specializes in helping folks understand their conflict behaviours and hot button triggers, and we offer an online conflict dynamics profile (CDP) assessment to help you figure out what will decrease the drama on your farm.
What suggestions do you have for making the next steps in the transition?
Each person brings a new perspective to the journey of change. The successor needs a fair compensation for their budding skill set, and the founders need to have secure income streams as they age in place on the farm. Money is not evil. Money is an energy and a resource. Hopefully, you have built a very profitable and viable farm operation with many options for growth.
I would be thrilled to hear your best management practice that gives your new manager wings to grow and security knowing you are a fabulous mentor for the journey ahead.
