Better Pork - June 2016

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54 Better Pork June 2016
SECOND LOOK
Succession planning and managing
generational expectations among
farm families was a topic at this
year’s London Swine Conference. Elaine
Froese, a family farm coach from Mani-
toba, challenged the audience to think
about farm transition plans and begin
having the often difficult but necessary
conversations within families. The audi-
ence consisted of producers whose ages
ranged from the 20s to over 60.
According to Elaine, different gen-
erations have different wants and needs.
Despite differences in generations and
farms, everyone involved needs clarity,
certainty and the commitment to act on
the plan for a succession to succeed.
Do you have a succession plan for
your farm? Is there a potential successor
within your family? If the answer is yes,
does he or she have the skills, abilities,
knowledge and desire to successfully
operate a sophisticated farm business
in today’s agricultural economy? If you
have more than one successor, what do
you plan to do? If there is no successor,
what are the options? How long does
the current operator(s) want to run the
business? Only the individuals involved
in the operation can answer these ques-
tions.
Communication is key during plan-
ning meetings. A family business meet-
ing is an excellent first step to open the
lines of communication. Elaine stressed
that individuals must ask for what they
need, and expectations must be clear for
the successful transfer of an operation
from one generation to the next. Keep
in mind that everyone has different
perspectives. Be respectful and listen
to everyone’s point of view. In many
cases, bringing in a third-party facilita-
tor helps ensure that the initial meet-
ings run well and everyone has an equal
opportunity to be heard.
You may think that your family
doesn’t need a succession plan; when
the time is right, it will just happen.
Elaine wasn’t afraid to present some
hard-hitting points. She said that
procrastination and conflict avoidance
are the two biggest threats to Canadian
agriculture. When the audience was
polled, the main excuse for not having a
succession plan was “avoiding conflict.”
A successful transition plan will em-
power your family, increase your profits
and secure the legacy of the founding
generation. Don’t procrastinate, don’t
be afraid to ask questions, and don’t
assume you know what other family
members are thinking. Put together a
team of professional advisers (lawyer,
accountant, financial planner, banker,
etc.) to transfer your farm from one
generation to the next. Have a clear and
concise plan that everyone agrees to,
and make sure you act on the commit-
ments in your plan.
For more information on succession
planning, visit the OMAFRA business
development website at www.ontario.
ca/agbusiness. A video recording with
written proceedings of Elaine Froese’s
presentation is available at www.lon-
. BP
Laura Eastwood, PhD, is a swine specialist
with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food
and Rural Affairs’ office in Stratford.
Farm succession planning should start
sooner than later
Succession planning is a process. The aim is to develop a strategy for the successful transfer
of knowledge, labour, management and ownership of the farm business from one generation
to the next. Time and effort are needed to develop a comprehensive plan that best meets the
needs of the farm family. Every family farm business is unique, and no single approach will
work for everyone.
by LAURA EASTWOOD
Elaine Froese speaking at the 2016
London Swine Conference