No one wants to think about getting older and handing the keys of the farm over. But all farmers need to think about and plan for farm succession in order for the estate to be handed down in the way the landowner hopes. That's what Allan Vyhnalek, Nebraska Extension agriculture economics educator told producers during a presentation at Husker Harvest Days.

While Vyhnalek is not an attorney, he said he hopes any information he can give can help producers make more efficient use of their time with their family estate attorney as they write a farm succession plan of their own.

Farming parents often make two big mistakes when it comes to planning, Vyhnalek said. "The parents will decide to do nothing, and they assume that the kids will get along OK during the transition,” he said.

"The second error commonly made is when parents make the assumption that their kids will want to keep the farm in the family," he added.

While 90% of farm transitions are successful, there are horror stories when families can't get along during succession.

In a recent Iowa study of farmers, Vyhnalek said 75% of farmers responding do not plan to retire or semi-retire. "Only 23% of farmers surveyed plan to fully retire," he said. But life throws curves, according to Vyhnalek. "If you put off estate planning until a critical life event, like death or illness, you aren't necessarily thinking the best at that time," he noted. "We often don't plan because we assume it is too complicated. We might get started and even meet with a lawyer, but then things stall out because it is hard mental work to develop a plan."

Vyhnalek talked about developing a vision for the farm. "Decide who gets the keys to the farm when you hand them over," he said. "Will you pass the farm on to the next generation in the family, a renter or to an auctioneer to sell? That's the question you need to answer to establish a vision." If the farm is passed on to the next generation in the family, it may need to provide an income for the lifestyle of a younger family and the older parents.

He suggested developing a plan in segments or phases of five, 10 or 20 years, so you have benchmark goals to meet over that time period. "This helps you make better decisions along the way," he said.

As the planning is begun, Vyhnalek said that families need to ask themselves if they will even have a relationship as a family after the process is started and they are done with a family meeting on farm succession. "We need to ask that question before we start," because some of those discussions can cause extremely hard feelings in a family, he said.

You can learn more by contacting Vyhnalek at [email protected].