Making it through the winter feeding season with enough feed, day to
day calving issues, drought management, all the factors in making an
agricultural operation be effective, there is a lot to think about.
It takes a lot of time, to build your operation, but as time marches
on, at some point you must consider what the future brings.   The
first question you should ask yourself? Do you want your farming
business to continue on beyond your lifetime? If the answer is no,
then simply decide who you want to leave your assets to, when you
want to leave it to them, and how long you want control of the
assets.  Go to your attorney and draw up your estate plan.  If on the
other hand, the answer to the questions is "Yes, I want my business
to continue on", then you must consider who will be the successor to
the business?  If the successor is an heir, will that heir be treated
differently than the other heirs? Will the farm assets be passed down
in a financially viable unit or will they be cut into pieces and
divided up like pie?

We will all die eventually, and, in the case of farm owners, at the
time of death their farm assets will pass down to their heirs.  It is
possible for an heir to take over an operation without previous
involvement and still become successful, but one can greatly increase
the probability of success if the owner plans for a successor.
One of the most difficult decisions for farm families to make is the
one regarding asset distribution in their estate play.  We love our
children, but we know that as they were growing up, they were not
treated exactly the same.  If one needed to have an appendix
operation, we didn´t rush the other two sons in, just to keep it
even.  Each were given what they needed, when they needed it, to the
best of our abilities.  That´s how we see it, my sons probably have a
different perspective.  Lance always plays the "middle child" quilt
trip card, but it made him stronger!
 

Where do you get help? How do you get started in this thought
process?  We have two opportunities coming your way.  On March 5th ,
at the Jackson County Fair building, we will have a Passing Down the
Farm presentation.   We have presenting: Forrest Buhler, Ag Attorney
with the Kansas Ag Mediation Center and Charlotte Shoup Olson, KSU
Family Specialist.  They will help with family dialogues, how to get
started, what kind of plan do you need.  This will be at 7 pm,  the
Jackson County Farm Bureau will provide some refreshments for the
evening.  There is no fee or preregistration, come and bring the
entire family!
 

The second opportunity will be March 26th, at 7 pm at the Fair
building in Valley Falls.  Our presenters for that meeting will be
Shon Robben, Attorney with Arthur-Green of Manhattan and Forrest
Buhler, Kansas Ag Mediation Services.  They will give you the 12 step
program of succession planning, how to prepare for your attorney and
answer any questions you might have.  Again, there is no charge. I
hope you can take advantage of these opportunities.