| PROJECT SUMMARY |
| This project sought to encourage farmers to act to reduce the financial and legal risks farm family businesses face as they transition between generations. Specifically, this project sought to provide cooperative extension agents from the land grant universities – both 1862 and 1890 – in North Carolina and Virginia with a more comprehensive understanding of the various tools farm families need as their families inevitably approach the question of business succession. However, the project focused more intensively on the producers and landowners as the primary audience, under the theory that they can act directly on the information. The project produced published materials for use by cooperative extension in assisting farm families, titled "Planning the Future of Your Farm: A Decision-Support Guide on Farm Transfer." The project ultimately produced one full day workshop in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, with follow up five part series in two locations (Verona and Strasburg) in the Valley and the Piedmont regions (Louisa and Culpepper). The project produced one workshop in Isle of Wight County in eastern Virginia, as well as one full day workshop in Duplin County, North Carolina. The workshops walked participants through selected imporatant issues with some use of a case-study format in approaching farm family business succession problems. |
| NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 160 |
| TOPICS COVERED |
| Insurance products |
| Product and enterprise diversification |
| Market analysis and outlook |
| Marketing strategies, plans and clubs |
| Contract production, branded or certified marketing, and value-added enterprises |
| Capital and financial assets |
| Plans and tools to address succession, estate planning, health, and well being |
| Tools for managing legal liability |
| Business and strategic planning |
| Employee recruitment, management and retention |
| Interpersonal, family and business relationships |
