FFF insight 19 - Start Before It Becomes Urgent

Farm Succession Planning: Start Before It Becomes Urgent 

There is a big difference between something being important and something being urgent. 

Urgent things demand our attention now. Important things often don't. 

And that difference can have an enormous impact on farm succession planning. 

Think about a normal week on a farm. A broken-down header is urgent. Livestock getting out is urgent. A bank deadline is urgent. A staff member not turning up is urgent. Rain coming when you've got hay on the ground is definitely urgent. 

These things demand attention because there is an immediate consequence if we don't deal with them. 

Farm succession is different. 

For many farming families, succession is incredibly important, but for years it may not feel particularly urgent. There might be no deadline. Mum and Dad are healthy. The farming business is going well. The next generation is working in the business. Everyone is getting along. Nothing is forcing the family to make a decision today. 

So farm succession planning gets pushed down the list. 

Not because the family doesn't care about it. Quite the opposite. Most farming families know succession is one of the most important issues they will eventually need to address. 

It simply isn't urgent yet. 

Why Farming Families Put Succession Planning Off 

There is some interesting psychology behind this. 

Urgent tasks give us a very clear signal: do something now. They usually have a deadline, an immediate consequence and a visible outcome. We also get satisfaction from solving them. 

Fix the tractor. Move the sheep. Make the phone call. Pay the bill. Lodge the paperwork. Tick it off the list and move on to the next thing. 

Important long-term issues are different. They often require thinking rather than immediate action. The outcome may be years away. There may be uncertainty. There may not be an obvious first step. 

And when it comes to family farm succession, there may also be conversations we're not quite ready to have. 

Who is going to lead the farm? What does Mum and Dad want the rest of their life to look like? When should management and control begin to transition? What does the next generation want? What is fair to the farming and non-farming children? How will the transition be funded? What happens to the land? And what happens if circumstances unexpectedly change? 

These aren't necessarily difficult questions because something has gone wrong. 

They're difficult because they matter. 

So when today's urgent problem arrives, it is very easy to say, "We'll get to succession when things settle down." 

But anyone involved in farming knows the problem with that. 

When do things ever completely settle down? 

Important vs Urgent: Where Does Farm Succession Sit? 

One of the simplest ways to think about our time is to consider whether something is important, urgent, both or neither. 

Some things are important and urgent. They are the fires that have to be dealt with now. 

Other things are urgent but not particularly important. They are the interruptions, phone calls, emails and demands that can consume a day without necessarily moving the farming business or family forward. 

Then there are things that are neither urgent nor particularly important. They're often simply distractions. 

But there is another category that is incredibly important in business and in life: important but not urgent. 

This is where we find things like strategy, relationships, health, leadership, governance and long-term planning. 

And it's where farm succession planning usually begins. 

That's the opportunity. 

Because while succession remains important but not urgent, the family has something incredibly valuable on its side. 

Time. 

Time to learn. Time to talk. Time to gather information. Time to consider alternatives. Time to involve the family. Time to seek advice. And time to make better decisions. 

When Farm Succession Suddenly Becomes Urgent 

A farm succession issue can remain important but non-urgent for 10 or 20 years. 

Until suddenly it isn't. 

Dad has a health issue. Someone dies unexpectedly. A relationship breaks down. A child wants to return to the farm. A farming child becomes frustrated after years of uncertainty. A sibling needs money. Debt becomes an issue. Land needs to be sold. A tax or legislative change creates a deadline. 

Suddenly the family isn't talking about something that might happen one day. 

Decisions need to be made. 

Farm succession has moved from important but not urgent to important AND urgent. 

And unfortunately, that is usually the worst time to begin. 

The family is now making some of the biggest financial, business and relationship decisions of their lives under pressure. 

Options may have disappeared. Timeframes have shortened. Emotions may be higher. Decisions that could once have been considered over several years may now need to be made over several weeks or months. 

Reactive vs Proactive Farm Succession Planning 

This is one of the biggest differences between reactive and proactive farm succession planning. 

Reactive succession asks: 

"What do we have to do now?" 

Proactive succession asks: 

"What should we start doing now so we aren't forced to make these decisions later?" 

That's a very different mindset. 

And importantly, being proactive doesn't mean you need to complete the entire farm succession plan today. 

It means starting the process while you still have time and options. 

You Don't Need All the Answers to Start Farm Succession Planning 

This is one of the biggest misconceptions about succession. 

Starting succession doesn't mean you need to solve succession. 

You don't need to know today exactly who will ultimately own or control every paddock. You don't need to decide exactly how every child will be treated. You don't need to transfer the farm tomorrow. You don't even need to know precisely when Mum and Dad will step back. 

You simply need to start the process. 

That might begin with understanding the family's current position, gathering information and clarifying what everyone is trying to achieve. 

Over time, you can better understand your structures, assets, liabilities, wills, insurance and tax position. You can think about Mum and Dad's future. You can understand what the next generation wants. You can begin discussing leadership, management, ownership and control. And importantly, you can start having better family conversations. 

Knowledge builds confidence. Conversations build understanding. And gradually, a pathway begins to emerge. 

The objective isn't to complete the succession plan tomorrow. 

The objective is to start becoming Succession Ready™. 

Start Farm Succession Planning by Controlling the Controllable 

There will always be things farming families cannot control. 

We can't control the weather, commodity prices, interest rates, government policy or unexpected changes in health and family circumstances. 

But there is plenty we can control. 

We can start earlier. We can gather the facts. We can educate ourselves. We can improve communication. We can establish a family meeting rhythm. We can understand our options. We can identify risks. We can develop the next generation. We can clarify leadership, management, ownership and control. 

And progressively, we can develop a Succession Blueprint™ for where the family wants to go. 

Starting early doesn't mean rushing the outcome. 

In fact, it can mean exactly the opposite. 

Starting earlier gives the family more time to think, learn, communicate and make considered decisions rather than being forced into them. 

From Farm Succession Planning to Succession Ready™ 

That's exactly why we developed Future Farming Families FOUNDATIONS. 

FOUNDATIONS gives farming families a structured way to start the farm succession process without expecting them to solve everything immediately. 

Families Learn and build their knowledge. They Connect to stay informed, ask questions and learn from others. They use practical resources from the Toolkit to apply what they're learning to their own family and circumstances. 

As their knowledge and confidence grows, families can establish a regular family meeting rhythm, progressively capture where they're heading in their Succession Blueprint™, and work towards becoming Succession Ready™. 

The Succession Blueprint doesn't mean every decision has already been implemented. 

It provides the pathway. 

Once the family is Succession Ready™, you're in a much stronger position to move into the detailed advice, planning and documentation needed to implement decisions. 

Most importantly, they've started that process while succession is still important — rather than waiting until circumstances make it urgent. 

How Succession Ready Is Your Farming Family? 

So here's something worth thinking about this week. 

How much of your time is spent dealing with what is urgent and how much is spent working on what is genuinely important? 

Then think about your own family. 

Where does farm succession sit today? 

Is it important? 

Almost certainly. 

Is it urgent? 

Maybe not. 

And if succession is important but not yet urgent, that's not a reason to wait. 

It's probably the best reason to start. 

A simple first step is to complete our Australian Family Farm Transition Benchmark. 

The Benchmark will help you understand where your family is today and how prepared you currently are for the transition ahead. It gives you an opportunity to step away from the day-to-day demands of the farm and consider some of the important areas that contribute to a successful family farm succession. 

It only takes a few minutes to complete, and you don't need to have all the answers. 

That's not the purpose. 

The purpose is to give you a clearer picture of where you are now, highlight areas that may need further thought or attention, and help you identify where to start. 

Because before you can work out where you need to go, it helps to understand where you are today. 

Complete the Australian Family Farm Transition Benchmark → 

And when you're ready to go further, Future Farming Families FOUNDATIONS provides the process, knowledge, resources and support to help your family work towards becoming Succession Ready™. 

There will always be another urgent job on a farm. 

Another season. Another problem. Another deadline. 

But don't let what's urgent today continually push aside what's most important for tomorrow. 

Start farm succession planning while it's important — before it becomes urgent.