{"id":437,"date":"2013-08-07T18:27:01","date_gmt":"2013-08-07T18:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/blog\/?p=437"},"modified":"2013-08-07T18:27:01","modified_gmt":"2013-08-07T18:27:01","slug":"why-farmers-love-carrots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/08\/07\/why-farmers-love-carrots\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Farmers Love Carrots"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tomorrow at the farmer\u2019s market I hope to find some garden fresh carrots, seeing how my garden this year is one big patch of compost. Farmers love carrots don\u2019t you know? They dangle one for years in front of the next generation, so to keep the young folks guessing when they will become part-owners, and have their dreams turn into reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proverbial carrot that Dad is holding out is really getting me down\u201d says the young dairy farmer. \u201c He can\u2019t see our 10 years here as commitment. We don\u2019t have the pride of ownership so my spouse refuses to do any work on the house yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, farmers love carrots and they hate to think about letting go of their managerial roles, and ownership. They wear the badge of honour \u201c I am a farmer, I will never retire\u201d with pride.<\/p>\n

Just today in the Western Producer the photo caption reads<\/p>\n

\u201cNever too old to work\u201d over the 80 year old sheep farmer . I am just curious if he has any successors who are frustrated by dad\u2019s inability to transfer ownership.<\/p>\n

My colleague Bob Tosh of MNP in Saskatoon is convinced that we advisors need to
\n\u201ceducate farmers on how to retire and let go of the farm .\u201d Bob\u2019s\u00a0 insight was also echoed by Don McCannell, another CAFA colleague who says \u201cDad\u2019s dream is not necessarily the same dream as the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

So you are stuck.<\/p>\n

Pulling mucky carrots out of a water-logged garden is hard work. It works much better when conditions are drier.<\/p>\n

What conditions will get rid of \u201csomeday the farm will be yours\u201d kind of thinking?<\/p>\n

1. Talk to yourself<\/strong>. Reflect about what a great day on the farm really looks like to you. Remember what you felt like when you were taking over from your parents. Did you forget what it felt like to have title to land, and be able to negotiate the finances? Are you having an identity crisis? You are a human being, not a human doing. What you do for a living does not define your character or who you are as a person. I suspect many farmers have a hard time letting go of their title of \u201cboss\u201d because they don\u2019t know who they would be if they left the farm in the charge of the next generation.<\/p>\n

2. Listen to your body\u2019s aches and pains<\/strong>. You think you are contributing lots of labour, but the younger labour at your farm sees things differently. Your perception is not their reality. They need to have some equity to leverage their dreams into reality, but you are stubborn about letting go, and don\u2019t want to change the farm business.\u00a0 If you have no successor, then start looking for a joint venture partner.<\/p>\n

Or take a sabbatical to \u201ctest out\u201d a different lifestyle that is less taxing on your body.<\/p>\n

Ralphy Waldo Emerson said \u201cyour health is your wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n

3.Decide how much longer you want to be happily married<\/strong>. Your spouse is waiting for some fun and adventure beyond the farm before you turn 80. She is tired of being \u201cthe pig in the middle\u201d of handling the successor\u2019s impatience and your pride of power and control. She also understands that you are a workaholic, and in a loving way she is trying to tell you what she needs for more family time and fun.<\/p>\n

The next generation is also looking for family life, because they will not work in the same way. \u00a0They have new ideas on how to work smart, but your carrot dangling is becoming annoying, and they may soon just up and leave in frustration.<\/p>\n

4. Different is just different, it is not necessarily wrong<\/strong>. Different dreams from the succeeding generation are being stifled by the carrot dangling in front of them . If they have invested 12 years of key energy and labour, and left awesome careers to come back to your business, they are more than ready to be given some shares or form of ownership. You don\u2019t have to have this be all or nothing. It can be done or transitioned in stages, but get it done now!<\/p>\n

5. \u201c Do it now<\/strong> !\u201d is the success mantra of wealthy business minds. Call your team of advisors: the accountant, the lawyer, the financial planner, the agrologist and the communications coach to get the process moving with hard facts.\u00a0 I was thrilled this summer when some farm folks updated their will that was 17 years old, bought plots, and planned their funeral. They just needed a gentle push to update their estate plans, and they are working with the Growing Forward program for consulting on their succession plan. Even the crop disaster won\u2019t stop them from moving ahead.<\/p>\n

6. Contact your local ag office to find out more about Growing Forward<\/strong> , Taking Stock or Agri-advisor funds for you to \u201cget rid of your carrots.\u201d These programs will help cover\u00a0 some of the\u00a0 cost of getting your plans talked out, and put on paper to execute. Younger farmers in some provinces also get a premium of help if they are under 40, so ASK !! I can email you the application forms for Saskatchewan and Manitoba . My email is elaine@elainefroese.com<\/a><\/p>\n

7.Crunch your numbers<\/strong>. Many farm folks are scared that they can\u2019t live well off the farm. They know there are farm perks financially, but they also have neglected to build up non-farm sources of income. They are counting on the farm to provide resources to live for the next 20 years. I can refer you to fee for service financial planners to help you understand your family living cost needs and income streams. You can also get a rough idea by looking at the last 12 months of bank\/credit union statements. Fear of the future money issues is a key reason why folks don\u2019t retire according to Andrew Allentuck, author of \u201cWhen Can I Retire<\/em>?\u201d.<\/p>\n

8. Stop treating all your kids the same way.<\/strong>\u00a0 The eldest child has put in years of sweat equity to help you create, capture, and grow your wealth, yet they are supposed to wait indefinitely so that you can see what the other siblings sign up for.<\/p>\n

Succession planning is a process, and has ongoing changes to be made based on needs, expectations, tax planning, and the willingness to test out new scenarios. Don\u2019t hold the oldest successor hostage to his or her siblings. You have a business that needs to be viable, efficient and profitable. It also needs to respond to the passion and energy of those invested in it. Your successors have invested time and labour. Your farm is not a pie to be cut into 4 equal pieces for each child. Get over it !<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve looked at your own financial needs and emotional well being, then you can start the discussion around \u201c What does fairness look like to you ?\u201d.
\nMay every carrot you eat this fall remind you that there\u2019s work to be done. Start talking and email me your new scenario you are building to get rid of the \u201cproverbial carrots rotting on your farm.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tomorrow at the farmer\u2019s market I hope to find some garden fresh carrots, seeing how my garden this year is one big patch of compost. Farmers love carrots don\u2019t you know? They dangle one for years in front of the next generation, so to keep the young folks guessing when they will become part-owners, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[387,25,113,35,21,76,388],"class_list":["post-437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-carrots","tag-farm","tag-farm-business","tag-farm-folks","tag-farmer","tag-farmers","tag-farmers-market"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Farmers Love Carrots - Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/elainefroese.com\/2013\/08\/07\/why-farmers-love-carrots\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Farmers Love Carrots - Elaine Froese | Canada\u2019s Farm Whisperer | Your go-to expert for farm families who want better communication and conflict resolution to secure a successful farm transition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tomorrow at the farmer\u2019s market I hope to find some garden fresh carrots, seeing how my garden this year is one big patch of compost. 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