Farm succession workshops continue in Skagit County
O’Donnell’s Farmhouse to host succession workshops from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 14 and Feb. 18.
A series of farm succession workshops are continuing this week at O’Donnell’s Farmhouse near Mount Vernon.
“The main intention is facilitating the transfer of farms and farmlands to the next generation,” said Sarah Stoner, Farmland Legacy program manager for Skagit County.
The next meeting takes place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 14. Titled “Planning the Transition,” the next session provides an overview and will help clarify big decisions. Farmers will meet a local network of planners and learn about available resources.
The event will include a panel of representatives who can talk about the legal implications, tax and debt management issues, how to talk to family and how to structure a meeting with relatives.
Stoner said succession planning is a long process that can take months to years to complete. Succession planning is important because nearly half of the farmland in Skagit County is owned by a non-farmer.
“The challenge is it’s really hard work and emotional,” Stoner said. The process includes grief, an evaluation of financial successes, an evaluation of familial relationships, and putting a price on a business.
She added around 90 percent of farmland owners don’t have a succession plan.
“Statistics show most land is lost to developers when there is no succession plan,” Stoner said.
The first meeting took place in mid-December with a panel of farmers who have either gone through the succession planning process, others who are currently participating in the process and others who planning a transition process that isn’t familial. “We want to represent all of these different models,” Stoner said.
She added that around 30 farmers attended the first session.
The final session in the series takes place Feb. 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. at O’Donnell’s Farmhouse. The final session will cover how to move forward with succession planning.
The events are funded with a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture and managed through the American Farmland Trust.
