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For a farm succession plan to succeed there must be a timetable for specific actions to take place. Everyone involved must be able to see when certain benchmarks are reached. If there is no agreement on when certain elements of the process will be put in place – why should they believe you are really serious about farm succession planning this time either?

Remember the first time you told someone that you’d do something, like clean the shed or wash the pickup, when you get around to it. And they whipped out a wooden coin that was stamped “Round Tuit” across it. Ok, so now you have the round tuit – when are you going to start on the shed?

Farm succession planning lends itself perfectly to being put off doesn’t it? If you hadn’t been putting it off all this time you would have no reason to read this would you?

Let’s face it, we all spend far too much time living on “someday isle” and since the farm succession planning issues reside there as well – we’ll get started on the discussion after the crops are in, after the holidays, after the crops are planted, after vacation, after the association meeting, or worst of all – after we have everything figured out.

It does not seem to occur to people that the process of farm succession, passing down the farm – is really about figuring out what we want to happen. It’s about getting clear on what’s important to us, our spouses, and our families.

Farm succession is 90% knowing what you want the future to look like and 10% having the documents and contracts in place to see that it will all come together in the end.

Here are 7 things you can do to get everyone on board with the process. Each one can be put on the timetable and checked off when it is completed. That’ll get everyone’s attention that, yes this time you really are serious.

1) Have your first family meeting. This is the starting point for your farm succession planning process. Make it a special event, close the doors and stay at it for as long as it takes. Everybody’s got to be there, no exceptions, no excuses, and no distractions.

2) Appoint the planning coordinator. The number one thing to come out of that first meeting is having someone assigned the responsibility of managing the succession planning process. This person must have the power to act and getting that out in the open at the first family meeting is critical.

3) List the priorities. The first meeting and the one-on-one meetings to follow are important places to begin sorting out the individual priorities of everyone involved.

4) Pick off the urgent concerns. There may be a few issues that resonate with everybody, things everyone agrees are important and that can be done right away. Doing them is more than a sign of good faith – it can have immediate benefits. Getting wills up to date or insurance beneficiaries changed come to mind as examples.

5) Are any leverageable actions possible? When the priorities are being discussed a question or two may arise, the answer to which will impact greatly all the future decisions. Can this be handled up front so all future discussions include this new information? For example asking your son the Doctor right away if he has absolutely given up on moving back home and milking cows three times a day for the rest of his life. Now you can get on with the planning.

6) Is there any low hanging fruit, from a planning point of view? By that I mean are there actions that can be taken today that will impact the process, take you toward your ultimate objectives – that can be done quickly and easily and send a message to everyone?

7) Set the date for the next meeting. When will you have the next meeting and what will be done by then and by whom? Someone must be holding everyone accountable. Get people to commit to the next meeting, no exceptions and no excuses. make it far enough in the future to get it on everyone’s busy schedule and close enough to keep the momentum going.

You’ll be amazed how people respond to the timetable. Those who are serious will be all over it. The ones who are not going to be part of the solution anyway will show themselves earlier rather than later.

Farm succession and planning are too important to be allowed to drift along until you get a Round Tuit!

When Don Jonovic PhD and I wrote Passing Down the Farm the OTHER Farm Crisis”, in 1986 – based on my experiences helping farm families plan for the future of their business during and beyond their lifetimes and Don’s insights into family business dynamics. We submitted a draft of each chapter to a panel of farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness owners – who checked it for accuracy and clarity.

The result. It was packed with universal truths about relationships and the need to take charge of the activities that surround planning for the future of the farm. It remains a favorite of farmers and their advisors to this day.

When I decided it was time to create a version for the new millennium, we first had to ask and answer three important questions. “In two decades, what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what should we do?”

If you are serious about farm succession, or if you are a professional involved in farm succession planning – or an farm association executive, click the link below and I’ll invite you to a free introductory conference call when Passing Down the Farm in the 21st. Century© is released. http://www.passingdownthefarm.com/about