Workshops address farm inheritance

If your family is facing the difficult decision of how to transfer the ownership and management of your farm to the next generation, or if you looking for advice about which strategy might work best for your family, you need to take advantage of the Ohio State University Extension-sponsored Building for the Successful Transition of Your Agricultural Business workshops.
Transfer assistance. Scheduled across Ohio during January, February, and March, these workshops are designed to assist farm families answer the complex questions that arise when discussing transferring the ownership and management of a farm business.
Extension educators and specialists have designed two-day workshops to be held at four locations across Ohio.
First workshop. The first workshop session at each location is designed to assist all members of the family business analyze the current status of the business, determine where the business is going, and plan for the future.
Participants will learn how responsibilities can be shared among generations and how the new generation of managers can be developed.
Participants will also examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to their business and will develop a shared vision for the future.
Bernie Erven, Ohio State University agricultural economics professor emeritus, will be the keynote speaker.
Second workshop. The second workshop session will feature the nuts and bolts of transferring a family business from one generation to the next.
This session will allow participants to learn more about business organization structures and strategies; how to treat on-farm and off-farm heirs; how to equitably transfer assets; how to plan for adequate retirement income; and how buy-sell agreements, trusts, and life insurance can be used in succession planning.
Paul Wright and Robert Moore from Wright Law Co. LPA in Dublin, Ohio, will be keynote speakers.
All sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Registration is $75 for the first family member and $50 for each additional family member attending.
Registration includes a workshop notebook, refreshments and lunch during each session.
To register or to obtain a brochure, contact the OSU Extension Center at Lima at 419-422-6106 or http://ohioagmanager.osu.edu/.
(The author is an agricultural extension educator in Tuscarawas County and a member of the OSU Extension DairyExcel team. Questions or comments can be sent in care of Farm and Dairy, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460.)