What if, instead of — ugh — “planning,” we set intentions for the given time we spend in our farm operations, then held ourselves accountable to create more meaningful ways of showing up?
Tag Archives succession planning
Increase farm productivity by being intentional about time
Farm Family Coach: Even if we hate making hard plans, we should work with clarity about what we want and need
Grandma, stop hurting your family’s farm transition
Seeds of Encouragement: Hard commitment to a late spouse’s wishes may not align with what’s now happening in the business
The situation: A mom is not willing to consider that her dead husband’s wishes — which she wants to honour – may not be the best direction for the farm or the family in the current situation of 2025.
Get great transition plans in place now and make my heart sing
Seeds of Encouragement: When you let go of things, you need something to move toward
Thirty years ago this week I published my first column with Grainews. It has been an honour to hear stories from readers on the steps they have taken to better their lives.
Parents retiring, leaving farm to two sons
Farm Financial Planner: A sale of personal assets to a farm corporation is subject to a now-increased capital gains exemption
A couple we’ll call Jared, 68, and Leanne, 66, from eastern Manitoba, have built a successful grain farming operation. They have three sons: Josh, 40; Craig, 38; and Shawn, 36. Jared and Leanne want to work toward retirement. The plan is to have Josh and Craig take over. Josh and Craig have both been farming […] Read more
How to talk about ‘fair family price’ for land, other assets
Seeds of Encouragement: A family farm transfer likely involves some gifting, given the market values for farmland
Elaine writes: “Fair family price” versus “fair market value price” (or FFP vs. FMV) is often a tense conversation between a farm’s founders, needing to sell assets for their personal income stream, and a buyer, often the cash-strapped successor on the farm. To offer readers some wisdom on this conversation I asked our coaching teammate […] Read more
Watch your words
Seeds of Encouragement: Self-defeating language can kill transition conversations and affect your mental health
Recently in one of our amazing membership coaching calls a farmer sighed loudly about his transition frustration and said, “It is what it is.” This sparked a lively conversation about how we handle our mental well-being, which is often bathed in waves of frustration as we try to navigate the needs and wants of founders […] Read more
Two brothers want to merge two farms, simplify ownership
Farm Financial Planner: Maximizing the proceeds from their estates for the benefit of charities will take some planning
In south-central Manitoba, two brothers who we’ll call Herb, 75 and Fred, 60, have farmed for more than 40 years. They’ve raised cattle and produced mixed grains. Neither has married and there are no children or other obvious heirs. In their four decades of farming the brothers have built up substantial off-farm assets. There’s enough non-registered […] Read more
Great questions to uncover inheritance expectations
Seeds of Encouragement: Keeping a farm intact can complicate the process, but not insurmountably so
One of the key fears of aging farm founders is the conflict they anticipate when the farming heir has access to millions of dollars of land, and the siblings who are off to other careers do not have the same net worth opportunity in their future. Or do they? Firstly, where it is written that […] Read more
Using common ground for written agreements
Seeds of Encouragement: Put intentions and interests into well written words before change inevitably comes
I hope you are reading this on your phone while waiting in the field, which would mean #plant2024 conditions are perfect to go. The type of “common ground” I refer to in the headline is not your soil; it’s the things everyone on your farm team is committed to work toward. As mediators in conflict […] Read more
How to have the conversation about prenups
Whatever the status of your relationship, the farm you share needs clarity
“So, you want to protect your farm in case of a divorce, understandably so! Can you do that with a prenup? Yes! If it’s valid and enforceable, and you include the right provisions, your farm can stay in your possession, even in the worst-case scenario of a divorce. Prenups can also supplement your estate planning […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
