The average age of a farmer is 57.5 years old. While that’s still two decades away from the average life expectancy, one event is trying to motivate existing farmers to think about the future.
Becky Huttinga, Ottawa County economic development coordinator, says the Cultivating Connections event is designed to connect older farmers with younger farmers who are looking to learn and grow.
“Mentorship is tricky, but it is very critical,” she says. “We have all of these farmers that are getting older and aging out, but their kids are not always coming back to the farm. We also have a lot of first generation, new farmers trying to get in but they don’t have the institutional knowledge if they grew up on a farm—so trying to bring those groups together and make more connections between the older farmers that have knowledge and the younger farmers seeking it.”
Huttinga says these types of connections will help preserve farmland and help the next generation of farmers advance.
“Nobody wants to think about succession planning because it indicates something great coming to an end, but it doesn’t have to come to an end,” she says. “It’s your legacy—it’s what other people can take and continue to grow, a mark you’ve made of yourself. At the end of the day, it has to be done.”
MiFarmLink is sponsoring the event and is providing funding for two things.
“The first is to get some free consultation with a very experienced attorney to get started—to look at how long is this going to take, what [you] need and how to do this,” says Huttinga. “Then if you also really get motivated, get everybody at the table and complete your succession plan, this project has some funding where we can provide a small reimbursement.”
Professional speaker and farmer Jolene Brown will be one of the speakers at the November 10 event, which it will be in-person only. To register, click here.
