Family Business Meetings are Important

Many ranching operations involve multiple family members working together. South Dakota State University Extension Livestock Business Management Field Specialist Heather Gessner says holding regular family business meetings helps keep everyone on the same page and deals with day-to-day issues.

Gessner: "It gives everyone that chance feel like they were included. So when you are coming through and dealing with those family-type of situations you reduce the amount of friction because everyone kind of knew what was going on. Everybody says we have family meetings all the time. Well, probably you have a family business meeting with the people that are on the operation they are farming every day and ranch together."

However there are more strategic future-looking meetings that also need to be held and, Gessner says should include non-farm family members.

Gessner: "That family business meeting that talks about transition of the operation. That really takes it to the next level of including the other family members that maybe are off the farm or not there very often. So that they understand what is going on and why things will shake out or how things will shake out once mom and dad decide to retire or we have a logical plan laid out and this is what is going to happen -- or who gets what is usually where the problems come from."

Gessner says meetings can help alleviate some of those issues.