January 04, 2025

Farmers attend Indiana Ag Law Foundation Workshop

By Erica Quinlan
Attendees gather at the Indiana Ag Law Foundation Workshop in Indianapolis. The workshop was an extension of INAgLaw’s annual Estate & Succession Planning for the Family Farm program, which is targeted toward family farmers and attorneys to arm them with the basics of succession planning. The new workshop is more intensive and geared toward directly assisting families with their plans in a smaller group environment.

Attendees gather at the Indiana Ag Law Foundation Workshop in Indianapolis. The workshop was an extension of INAgLaw’s annual Estate & Succession Planning for the Family Farm program, which is targeted toward family farmers and attorneys to arm them with the basics of succession planning. The new workshop is more intensive and geared toward directly assisting families with their plans in a smaller group environment. (Indiana Ag Law Foundation photo)

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Ag Law Foundation hosted a new workshop focused on helping families work together to begin the farm transition process.

The daylong workshop, which was held at the Indiana Farm Bureau headquarters, featured sessions designed to generate thoughts and ideas about farm succession planning.

Six multigenerational families attended and worked together with legal experts to further the process of their succession planning.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest Census of Agriculture, 51% of Indiana producers say they are involved in estate planning or succession planning.

“With only about half of farmers in Indiana stating they have some sort of plan, it is clear that these conversations about transitioning the farm can be difficult for families to navigate,” said John Shoup, director of INAgLaw.

“The goal of the new workshop was to be an extension of our annual program by diving deeper into the specifics needed for a succession plan in a smaller, group environment that facilitates some of those hard conversations for families, while benefiting from one-on-one counseling from experts.”

The workshop was hosted by Shoup and facilitated by Clint Fischer, attorney with Ribstein & Hogan Law Firm in Brookings, South Dakota.

Families discussed their farm vision, values, goals and inventory. They also talked about developing a transition plan framework and learned about key legal concepts and business structures.

Each family participated in breakout sessions where they had conversations about defining their farm’s legacy, understanding farm assets and liabilities, and reflecting on how they want the transition and estate planning process to unfold for their family.

“My family was able to have some very important, if not difficult, discussions about the future of our operations, and the workshop structure and prompts served as a great catalyst to get those conversations going,” said farmer Bryant Barger, who attended the workshop with his dad, uncle and cousin.

“One of the biggest takeaways was the importance of having your ‘team’ built in advance, like your attorney, CPA and financial planner, as well as the importance of clear communication between these parties to ensure that they are all working together toward a unified goal.”

INAgLaw plans to offer more farm succession workshops in 2025. Learn more at infb.org/farmsuccession.

Farm BureauFarm Family LifeSuccession PlanningUSDA
Erica Quinlan

Erica Quinlan

Field Editor