Bringing Young and Old Together on the Farm

For many small-business owners, succession is a ticklish issue. That’s especially true for farmers, who
face a dearth of candidates to take over their land. But many states are stepping forward to address that
problem by matching aspiring young farmers with established ones.

By PATRICIA CALLAHAN
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Farmers over age 55 now control more than half of U.S. farmland. At the same time, the number of
entry-level farmers stepping in to replace the retiring ones has dropped 30% in the past 15 years, says
the Center for Rural Affairs. There are three times as many farmers over age 65 as under age 35,
according to the nonprofit center in Walthill, Neb. So that means that a farmer’s retirement will often
result in his farm falling fallow, getting developed into subdivisions or being consolidated into a larger
farm.

But states interested in preserving a tradition of small family-run farms are starting so-called land-link
programs. The programs, which have grown to 20 today from two in 1991, involve a lot more than just
real-estate matchmaking. The programs help young farmers find financing, and get young and old to talk
about their differences that could threaten a successful transition.

The idea for Iowa’s land-link program, one of the earliest, grew out of a hotline for farmers during the
1980s farm crisis. At the time, farmers starting out needed all of their assets — including equipment, seed
and livestock — upfront and were encouraged to buy as much land as possible, forcing them to take on
smothering debt. John Baker, the administrator of the Beginning Farmer Center at Iowa State University,
was a Des Moines lawyer counseling Iowa farmers about foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings. "It
dawned on me that we were trying to help young people get started in farming in the wrong way," he
says.

The program’s goal was to help young farmers ease into ownership or long-term land leases. Since 1991,
Iowa’s program has directly matched new and old farmers on about 90 farms and has provided
information on succession planning and financing to hundreds of others.

Nebraska’s Land Link program sprouted around the same time as Iowa’s. Joy Johnson, who runs the
program out of the Center for Rural Affairs, looks for common farming interests when matching beginning
and retiring farmers. In one case, a beginner and a retiring farmer sent questionnaires within two weeks of
each other — both from Meadow Grove, a town with a population of 311. "I recognized that their rural
route box numbers were within two numbers," says Ms. Johnson. "I said, ‘You should be calling your
neighbor.’ "

The retiring farmer, whose ancestors homesteaded the land in the 19th century, was looking for someone who could work with him and
buy him out in five years. The five-year plan — which shifts ownership of cattle, hogs and equipment gradually until 2003 — helped the new
farmer finance the purchase of 320 acres.

The land-link program in Vermont helped preserve a 776-acre dairy farm, which went into foreclosure in 1998. At first, the task seemed
daunting. The size of the Starksboro, Vt., farm was too big for most small farmers to afford, and the location — about 20 miles from
Burlington — made it vulnerable to development.

The Vermont Land Trust, a conservation group, bought it with help from the town, but restricted the deed to the open land, limiting all
future use to agriculture, forestry and open space. The property was divided into parcels, including a 186-acre hilly pasture with a
farmhouse.

That’s when Land Link Vermont, run out of the University of Vermont’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture, helped find a buyer. Monty
Adams and his wife, an Arizona couple, looked for a ranch in Western states but couldn’t find an affordable one. Mr. Adams found Land
Link Vermont through its Web site, and later learned of the Starksboro property, which because of the restrictions, cost about $95,000.
"The same acreage out West would have cost $500,000 easily," says the 45-year-old.

Land-link programs say the challenge isn’t in finding young farmers, but in finding older farmers flexible enough to take on a newcomer.
"Most farmers are introverts," says Gwen Garvey, Farm Link coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and
Consumer Protection. "It’s very difficult for a lot of farmers … to bring someone new in [whom] they’ve never dealt with before and watch
them take over something you’ve worked at all of your life."

Conflicts can arise over compensation, working hours, expansion plans and new technology. Even things like milking times on dairy farms
can become a problem. "Perhaps the older farmer is used to milking at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. and the younger farmer would rather change
some schedules or have a substitute so they can go to their kids’ sporting events," Ms. Garvey says.

Such conflicts lead to a failure rate of 15% to 20% among matches in Iowa, says Iowa’s Mr. Baker. When this happens, land-link
programs often try to mediate. "The older farmer doesn’t have to believe that it’s important for the younger person to go to the soccer
game," he says. "They have to tolerate it."

Write to Patricia Callahan at [email protected]