Transition Advice Can Come from Extensions

An aging farming population has made understanding the process of transitioning land ownership and land tenure critical to the future of agriculture.

Damona Doye from Oklahoma State University Extensions says the conversations need to start early and be directly with potential successors.

“And make them specific to decide how a transition is going to take place, over what time period and to do enough number crunching so that everyone is realistic in terms of what their expectations are.”

Doye noted that for those who have questions, cooperative extensions can also help farmers in succession planning.

“Extension has a long history of providing educational resources to people related to everything from leasing practices to land values to estate planning.”

In addition to the aging farm population, there are also a lot of young people, veterans, minorities and others looking for an opportunity in ag, so this type of planning can benefit all kinds of farmers.