![]() “But I believe it’s the other way around. “Most of my peers think I’m crazy to include spouses, that it’s asking for trouble,” says Bohr. When Bohr and Downey meet with farm families to talk about succession planning they invite parents, on-farm kids, off-farm kids, and spouses – anyone who has a stake in the farm. “They are thinking, ‘What if I get this virus and die? What does that mean to the farm and my legacy?’ The virus is making people more conscious of their mortality.” “Landowners are an older population already, and then you throw in COVID,” says Bohr. Farmers need to address that situation in their succession plans, whether through gifting, discounting, leasing, or something else. Illinois farms can “get absolutely hammered in state death tax,” says Bohr. “You don’t want to be 80 years old and finally be able to retire.” “Steve recognizes life is short,” says Cathy. The Onions’ plan is still in process, but half the battle is starting the communication and the plan. It was too easy to say ‘I will look at this tomorrow.’ ” Mike has been our accountability partner. “You need to talk to the attorney, the accountant, the insurance agent, and the financial planner. “Inertia is so easy in this process, because there’s no one right way to transition a business to the next generation, and it can get cumbersome and complicated,” says Cathy. The last time Downey visited the farm, Cathy asked him to draw scenarios on sheets of poster paper, which she keeps taped on the kitchen wall as a reminder. They want to be fair to her while assuring the continuation of the farm.Ĭathy met Mike Downey and Steve Bohr of Farm Financial Strategies in Lisbon, Iowa, at an ag banking meeting and set up a series of consultations. They have an older daughter, Tayler, who has a career in Florida. The Onions are trying to figure out the best way to transition the farm to Austin, but it’s a work in process. It was the worst year because it was so wet the planting didn’t get finished until June. It was the best year because he got to farm with his son. When Austin came back, Steve told him the first year was his best worst year. “Even though his dad couldn’t be here, he sure surrounded himself with great men who became advisers and mentors to Steve, and that was a tremendous gift,” says Cathy. At 24, Steve farmed the ground his parents owned and acres he and his dad crop-shared for longtime landlords. Steve, 60, worked alongside his dad until 1984, when his father died of colon cancer at age 50, after a four-year battle. “It’s capital-intensive for a young person to start crop farming by buying land and equipment.” “Austin is eager to buy ground, but we reminded him it took us a while before we could invest,” says Cathy. He trades out his sweat equity for machinery use. He makes all the decisions on marketing, seed, fertilizer, and chemicals. When Austin graduated from college and came home, he rented two of the farms Steve previously farmed. The Onions have a row-crop and cow-calf operation near Industry. It’s more important to enjoy what you do than aspire to do something for your father or just chase dollars.”ĭown the road from the Litchfields, Steve and Cathy Onion are working on a succession plan with their son, Austin, 26. “After a couple of harvests, if farming is his passion, good, and if not, he is young enough to pivot into something else. Harvest, which consumes so much time and energy, will be a test of Ryan’s desire to farm, says Kendell. “It would be difficult to have Ryan take over spreadsheets I created over the years, so I thought we might jump into this new platform. They are working on a web-based farm management platform so they can have real-time insight to profitability at the field level. During that time, Ryan will be a third employee while Kendell teaches him management of the farm and the numbers side of the operation. I have two key employees, and one of them wants to slow down and retire.” He decided not to make any drastic changes for two years. Kendell set about figuring out how to work Ryan into the succession plan. ![]()
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