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If you’re a small business owner, like a farmer, succession planning is hard! Especially if it involves family.
“If it’s not family, that’s okay, I may never see this person again,” says Misty Oebel, Health & Farm Stress Educator with Michigan State Extension. “However, with family, this is going to be the person I’m still having dinner with every Sunday afternoon, every Christmas, Thanksgiving. This is going to be an ongoing issue for the rest of our lives, and we’re aware of that.”
She says the stress associated with succession planning is one reason it gets put off.
“So, there is this fear of conflict. There is often a fear that we are choosing maybe the wrong successor, and so being very concerned about making sure that the right person is going to take over that family legacy is a very big issue with farm succession planning.”
But Oebel says you shouldn’t put it off any longer, because resources are available through Michigan State Extension that can help.
“One thing that I think is a really great resource that MSU Extension offers is they have farm management and financial resources that are available. So, they do have people who work with you to create a financial analysis of your farm, which is great because it can tell you how healthy the farm is. It can tell you if there are any potential problems that are currently in place or maybe common issue in the future. They also can help work through that succession with you.”
Meaning educators can be in the room with you while you speak to your family members about the succession plan.
“That’s one of my favorite things, is working with those educators, and then on my side of it to kind of work as the mediator and the, ‘Hey- you know what? I don’t think that’s actually what your brother said. I’m pretty sure that he meant something different. Maybe he can explain it a different way.’ And so, there are those kinds of resources that are available that we can help walk through that process. You don’t have to do it alone.”
To get started, Oebel says just Google MSU Extension Farm Stress to find all the mental health and financial health resources they have available. You can also find those resources here.