As the average age of farmers continues to rise, so does the need for farm transfer and succession planning. Land For Good provides farmers with the guidance and support they need to ensure their farmland stays in farming for generations of new farmers to come. As a national leader on farmland access and transfer, we receive many invitations from partner organizations to offer workshops to farmers on the various components involved in the farm succession planning process.
This winter we were invited to teach a full day Planning for the Future of Your Farm session at the Farm and Food School as part of the 46th annual Ohio Ecological Farm and Food Association (OEFFA) conference in Newark, Ohio. OEFFA strives to cultivate a future in which sustainable and organic farmers thrive, local food nourishes communities, and agricultural practices protect and enhance the environment. This celebrated event welcomed hundreds of farmers, gardeners, and food supporters to learn and connect, and OEFFA announced the 2025 recipients of its Stewardship, Service, and Beginning Farmer awards.
“This year’s awards winners are a testament to OEFFA’s strong, enduring community. Not only do they find ways to break through barriers, they share their knowledge so that everyone can be lifted up,” said OEFFA Executive Director Khara Strum. “When we work together, we rise together. I commend these shining stars of our community.”
At the conference, speakers from all over the country presented on a various topics, and farmers came from hours away to be there. I provided a truncated version of our three-day Farm Succession School curriculum that we have been developing for decades. We started the day with an overview of why farm succession planning is important and what the major challenges are. Often, the main obstacles farmers face when attempting to plan for a successful farm transfer, are what we call the “soft” issues. These are the things nobody wants to think about or take the time to address like aging, death, retirement goal setting, discussing values for transitioning the farm, learning good communication skills, etc. Thus, the “soft” issues are actually the hard issues. We believe that goal setting and communication are the foundation of a good farm succession plan.
From there we discussed the various components that need to be addressed in a farm succession plan and worked through activities that enabled participants to make succession planning progress during the workshop. We went through a visioning and goal setting process, took time to assess where folks currently were in their succession planning process, honed in on actionable items in each component that people felt like they could act on right away, and identified their greatest challenges and ways to address those challenges.
Later in the day, we were joined by Robert Moore, an attorney with OSU’s Ag and Resource Law Program. Robert discussed the importance of having a trusted team of advisors to help with various parts of the farm succession process. Robert was a wealth of local knowledge and experience, while also being very personable and willing to answer questions.
Throughout the workshop, attendees used a workbook to complete activities as we discussed them. This technique is extremely motivational for people because they are making tangible progress towards their succession planning goals right then and there.
“I think it was great that we had a workbook to go through right there rather than listening to a course and being sent home with homework that would probably never get done,“ shared a workshop participant.
Participants shared that the workshop helped them to better understand the issues involved in succession planning and to identify next steps.
As a service provider, it is always inspiring to see farmers come together and open up about their individual experiences, insights, and struggles with farm succession planning. They always learn so much from each other, and I always learn so much from them.
It’s really a fulfilling and rewarding experience all around. I am grateful to the team at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association for hosting us!
We believe that goal setting and communication are the foundation of a good farm succession plan.
