Organizations Help Wisconsin Farmers Keep Farms In The Family

More Wisconsin farmers are seeking help with plans to turn over the family farm to the next generation.

Dan Smith is the administrator of the Division of Agriculture Development at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. He said the division usually helps develop roughly 300 transition plans a year, but that number is expected to increase to 500 in 2015.

“We’re definitely doing more of that type of work than we ever have before,” he said.

The average Wisconsin farmer is 56 years old, and Smith said age is a big part of it. Jason Fischbach, University of Wisconsin-Extension ag agent for Ashland and Bayfield counties, said this is the first year they’ve put together a farm succession program.

“We have six families, and it’s about a year-long process, sometimes longer, to work with the family to put together a farm succession plan,” he said.

Fischbach said farmers receive help from a financial specialist and an attorney on transferring assets and creating enough cash flow for their children to take over.