Have you ever wondered what would happen if the glue of your family farming operation passed away unexpectedly? How would you sift through all the farm records and business, especially while grieving? Where would you start?

Here’s something you can do to test that scenario: drop dead. Now, I don’t mean that you should literally up and die. However, David Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, recommends families try this simulation to see how they would proceed should that pivotal family member die.

“If you ever want to get people motivated to do transition planning, do the ‘drop dead’ exercise,” Kohl says.

How it works

Have the key players of the farm business — parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren — put their name on a piece of paper in a hat. Pull one of the names from the hat and have that person “play dead.” They cannot talk or take part in the activity in any form.

Then, the “living” family members must try to figure out how they will carry on the business without that “dead” family member. If that dead person happens to be a pivotal player in the business, like a grandparent or parent, then this exercise will test how well versed the remaining members of the farm business are in the farm transition plan.

“Invariably, what will happen is the dead person will try to talk,” Kohl says.

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I know I would fall in that boat. I can picture it now: my family gathered around the living room, with my dad playing “dead” at the center. Surely, we would only get about two minutes in before I’m pleading with him to share some insight, hoping nobody else catches my moment of weakness.

Seriously, though, consider trying this exercise with those involved in your operation. Do they know how you want the business to proceed if you are gone? Or for those in the next generation, do you know what your parents’ or grandparents’ wishes are if they pass away?

If you think you’d be poking at the “dead” person during this exercise, trying to get some help, I suggest you start beginning the farm transition planning process.

Another activity

Perhaps your family enjoys this “drop dead” exercise. Here’s another one that Kohl recommends: Have the grandkids write the history of the family.

Do they know who their great-grandparents were? Or do they know where the family originated? Maybe they know who started the farming operation. If anything, this activity could be one to generate some chuckles around the dinner table.

These two activities might seem like funny ways to bring the family together, but the deeper purpose of these is to get the conversation started about farm succession planning. Perhaps you think you have it all under control. Well, then this could be a great way to test if that is true.

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Whether you test these activities or dive right in with serious conversations, do something to get started. It beats the alternative of having to figure this all out without consulting that pivotal member of the family.