The Succession of Farmers

The Succession of Farmers

Rick Worthington
Rick Worthington
The Succession of Farmers

The future of our food system depends on the successful transfer of land to the next crop of farmers.

Kelly Cabral, a farmland specialist says the direct descendants of farmers are becoming less interested in taking up the torch.

She said that can create soft issues that complicate the succession process, given the long-term financial and emotional investments of the elder generation.

"Transferring something that they've been building their whole life can be really emotional, Cabral said. "Oftentimes, there's family dynamics at play; there's a lot of communication issues. You know, they get stuck in these logjams where they can't really move forward or have a really hard time letting go."

Cabral added roughly 10% of small farmers exit the business each year.

"These land transfers are going to be happening over the next 10 years, so it's a critical time to get these farmers connected," Cabral said. "One of the most important services is just linking people together who otherwise might not have the ability to connect."

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