Top women growers learn about the importance of succession planning. On Friday at Top Producer’s Executive Women in Agriculture conference in Chicago, Ill., more than 150 women listened and learned and in a workshop by Josh Sylvester of Legacy By Design, about the importance of the succession planning and how the Farm Journal Legacy Project can help them meet their transition goals.
The women learned about how to get started, where to seek help and the impact it can have on their family farms. When asked if they had ever held a family meeting, many laughed and most expressed that they had not. Of those who had one woman said that it was great and the another said it was awful, “a disaster,” she says, later conceding the conversation and “meeting” occurred at a Christmas family gathering. Sylvester explained the importance of the first family meeting being on neutral ground, off the farm if possible, and very structured even including an agenda if possible. He encouraged attendees to visit www.farmjournallegacyproject.com for tools and tips to help make the process sooner.
Sylvester closed the workshop answering questions and encouraging the farmers to become committed to developing a succession plan. “Farm Journal is committed to helping you succeed, Pioneer has steped up and made a large commitment to supporting this project and we are committed to helping you develop a plan, but you have to be committed,” he says.
For additional tools check out the succession planning tools menu and to seek advice from our experts, Ask Kevin!
For More Information
The Executive Women in Agriculture event is being held Dec. 1-2. You can follow news and coverage from the event by visiting Top Producer’s Executive Women in Agriculture site. You can also follow it on Twitter under the hash tag #ewa11.
