A farm succession specialist says setting aside regular, dedicated time for transfer planning can make decisions about an operation's future far more manageable for farming families.

Joy Kirkpatrick, an outreach specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, says a large share of farm owners are reaching the stage where those decisions can no longer be postponed. The demographic pressure she describes reflects a broader reality in U.S. agriculture: U.S. Department of Agriculture census data have consistently shown that a large share of principal farm operators are age 55 or older, making intergenerational transfer a pressing issue for many family operations.

"We have a lot of baby boomers who are at a retirement age or as we say in agriculture, shifting gears to their later farming years because nobody wants to talk about retirement," she says. "And that means that there need to be some decisions about how things are going to transfer."

Kirkpatrick tells Brownfield that during the succession process, business decisions should be kept separate from family dynamics. That guidance echoes a common theme in farm-transfer education: because most farms are both family homes and businesses, succession planning often has to address not only ownership of land, equipment, and livestock but also how family communication and shared decision-making will change across generations.

"One of the things that I always encourage is to start having regular business meetings that aren't started in the family dinner, having them separated out a little bit can really help," she says.

To support families in this process, Wisconsin Extension is offering small, virtual workshops this fall and winter designed to help families answer key questions that can shape a farm's generational survival. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension is the statewide outreach arm of the university, providing research-based educational programs on agriculture, farm management, and rural life to Wisconsin residents.

Kirkpatrick says the Cultivating Your Farm's Future series opens discussions ahead of working with legal professionals. Farm succession planning typically involves transferring management, labor, and asset ownership to the next generation, often years before the current generation fully steps back from the operation. Structuring that handover usually requires coordination with attorneys, accountants, and lenders, which is why programs like this one position themselves as a first step that helps families clarify their goals before engaging professional advisers.

The article was reported by Nicole Heslip for Brownfield Ag News on September 4, 2026.