Host Katie Wantoch and Kaitlyn Davis, Extension Agriculture Educator in LaCrosse County, discuss and offer tips for a couple’s plans for selling their cows and retiring from farming.
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Katie Wantoch
This is UW Extension’s Farm Management AgriVision Podcast. I am Katie Wantoch Agriculture agent with the UW-Madison Division of Extension. I’ll be chatting with fellow Extension educators as we answer questions from farmers and share our knowledge and expertise on how you can improve your farm management skills. Today I am joined by Kaitlyn Davis, Extension Agriculture Educator in LaCrosse County. Welcome Kaitlyn to the podcast.
Kaitlyn Davis
Hello Katie. Thanks for having me on today.
Katie Wantoch
Kaitlyn, today’s question is from a farmer and his wife who are in their early 60s. They milk 60 cows and farm 800 owned acres in southern Wisconsin. They’re wondering if now is a good time to sell their cows. Or if they should wait another year or two for cow prices and milk prices to improve. They don’t have any children who want to take over the farm. Their plan is to sell the cows and then crop farm for a few more years until they decide it’s time to fully retire from farming. And then will rent out their land. Kaitlyn, what do you think about this couple’s plans for selling their cows and retiring?
Kaitlyn Davis
Katie, this feels very much like an estate plan. And it’s important for both the husband and wife to be on the same page on what decisions are being made as they’re moving forward. This all begins with a discussion. A few questions they can ask themselves is, how retired do they want to be? What is their vision for the farm five years from now? 10 years from now? It sounds like they already have started on what they think that they want their plan to be. So that’s great, they’re moving in the right direction. If they are finding themselves struggling to start the conversation, I would have them reach out to a trusted Ag professional who can help guide them through the process. Now, I am one of those Ag professionals that do help farm families out with farm succession and estate planning. I’m a farm succession coordinator for the state of Wisconsin. And one of the things that I’ve been working on with my fellow coordinators and Extension educators is we have a book of worksheets called “Cultivating Your Farm’s Future”. In this workbook are several different worksheets dependent on where you are in the stage or retirement process that can help you as you’re working through some of the questions that I mentioned earlier. You can find more information about this Cultivating Your Farm’s Future workbook by visiting our Farms Extension website, which can be found in the description to this podcast.
Katie Wantoch
And that’s great information there Kaitlyn. Yeah, the Cultivating Your Farm’s Future workbook for farm succession planning, not only just looks at transferring the farm from generation to generation or owner to the next potential buyer, but also for those who are retiring. And you know, it kind of has three sections, that workbook right?
Kaitlyn Davis
Yeah, is three sections. So. where are you now? Where do you want to be? And how do you get there? And so each of those sections dependent on where you’re at in that process of farm succession and transition will help to guide you.
Katie Wantoch
And that workbook, you and I are both on the work team that is trying to make sure that each worksheet in there has a article that goes with it kind of describing how to complete that worksheet if they need some assistance for those people who are working through it, as well as the videos supporting them and talking through that with them as well. Correct?
Kaitlyn Davis
Yeah, that’s correct. So we’re currently working on a video series to complement the workbook along with articles, as you mentioned, that will go through and help to explain how to fill out those worksheets. Because as we know, with everything going on with COVID, meeting in person is difficult. And we would prefer that if you are going to be using the workbook that you do work with an Ag professional on it, just to help you guide as you’re working through it. And this is a nice alternative to that in person meeting, is to at least be looking at these videos and those articles and helping you as you’re working through the workbook.
Katie Wantoch
Right, exactly. And between the UW Extension Educators there’s also some specialists at Wisconsin Department of Ag Trading Consumer Protections, Farm Center staff who are also trained coordinators, so lots of great professionals out there for people to really reach out and seek the help they need whether they are transferring the farm or retiring from the farm. Anything else you want to add today, Kaitlyn?
Kaitlyn Davis
For more information on estate planning or farm succession, please visit our farm succession and transition topic hub.
Katie Wantoch
Thanks so much Kaitlyn for your time today.
Kaitlyn Davis
Thank you.
Katie Wantoch
For more Extension AgriVision podcasts or resources to improve your farm management skills check out farms.extension.wisc.edu. Thanks for listening.
This is UW Extension’s Farm Management AgriVision Podcast. I am Katie Wantoch Agriculture agent with the UW-Madison Division of Extension. I’ll be chatting with fellow Extension educators as we answer questions from farmers and share our knowledge and expertise on how you can improve your farm management skills. Today I am joined by Kaitlyn Davis, Extension Agriculture Educator in LaCrosse County. Welcome Kaitlyn to the podcast.
Kaitlyn Davis
Hello Katie. Thanks for having me on today.
Katie Wantoch
Kaitlyn, today’s question is from a farmer and his wife who are in their early 60s. They milk 60 cows and farm 800 owned acres in southern Wisconsin. They’re wondering if now is a good time to sell their cows. Or if they should wait another year or two for cow prices and milk prices to improve. They don’t have any children who want to take over the farm. Their plan is to sell the cows and then crop farm for a few more years until they decide it’s time to fully retire from farming. And then will rent out their land. Kaitlyn, what do you think about this couple’s plans for selling their cows and retiring?
Kaitlyn Davis
Katie, this feels very much like an estate plan. And it’s important for both the husband and wife to be on the same page on what decisions are being made as they’re moving forward. This all begins with a discussion. A few questions they can ask themselves is, how retired do they want to be? What is their vision for the farm five years from now? 10 years from now? It sounds like they already have started on what they think that they want their plan to be. So that’s great, they’re moving in the right direction. If they are finding themselves struggling to start the conversation, I would have them reach out to a trusted Ag professional who can help guide them through the process. Now, I am one of those Ag professionals that do help farm families out with farm succession and estate planning. I’m a farm succession coordinator for the state of Wisconsin. And one of the things that I’ve been working on with my fellow coordinators and Extension educators is we have a book of worksheets called “Cultivating Your Farm’s Future”. In this workbook are several different worksheets dependent on where you are in the stage or retirement process that can help you as you’re working through some of the questions that I mentioned earlier. You can find more information about this Cultivating Your Farm’s Future workbook by visiting our Farms Extension website, which can be found in the description to this podcast.
Katie Wantoch
And that’s great information there Kaitlyn. Yeah, the Cultivating Your Farm’s Future workbook for farm succession planning, not only just looks at transferring the farm from generation to generation or owner to the next potential buyer, but also for those who are retiring. And you know, it kind of has three sections, that workbook right?
Kaitlyn Davis
Yeah, is three sections. So. where are you now? Where do you want to be? And how do you get there? And so each of those sections dependent on where you’re at in that process of farm succession and transition will help to guide you.
Katie Wantoch
And that workbook, you and I are both on the work team that is trying to make sure that each worksheet in there has a article that goes with it kind of describing how to complete that worksheet if they need some assistance for those people who are working through it, as well as the videos supporting them and talking through that with them as well. Correct?
Kaitlyn Davis
Yeah, that’s correct. So we’re currently working on a video series to complement the workbook along with articles, as you mentioned, that will go through and help to explain how to fill out those worksheets. Because as we know, with everything going on with COVID, meeting in person is difficult. And we would prefer that if you are going to be using the workbook that you do work with an Ag professional on it, just to help you guide as you’re working through it. And this is a nice alternative to that in person meeting, is to at least be looking at these videos and those articles and helping you as you’re working through the workbook.
Katie Wantoch
Right, exactly. And between the UW Extension Educators there’s also some specialists at Wisconsin Department of Ag Trading Consumer Protections, Farm Center staff who are also trained coordinators, so lots of great professionals out there for people to really reach out and seek the help they need whether they are transferring the farm or retiring from the farm. Anything else you want to add today, Kaitlyn?
Kaitlyn Davis
For more information on estate planning or farm succession, please visit our farm succession and transition topic hub.
Katie Wantoch
Thanks so much Kaitlyn for your time today.
Kaitlyn Davis
Thank you.
Katie Wantoch
For more Extension AgriVision podcasts or resources to improve your farm management skills check out farms.extension.wisc.edu. Thanks for listening.
Related Resources
Information in this article was originally published as part of the Agrivision column in Wisconsin Agriculturist.
Extension resources
- What is the biggest threat to a farm estate getting to the rightful heirs? It’s probably not what you think
- Farm Succession & Estate Planning webpage
- Cultivating Your Farm’s Future program
- Wisconsin Farm Center
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