Reading Time: 3 minutes There are shelves full of books and articles on leadership, yet it can still be a struggle to apply their principles on our farms and to decide who leads and how. Even so, today’s farmers must recognize that fewer than one third of family-owned businesses succeed to the next generation, and we must learn to […] Read more
Seeing eye to eye
Part one in a five-part series on successful farm leadership
The power of a letter to get unstuck
Sometimes we have to go back to basics in order to keep healthy change happening on our farms. Lately in my transition seminars I have been encouraging frustrated young farmers to write a letter of intent to their founding parents. People who are stuck with a large degree of anxiety and overwhelm from not knowing[...]
Read more
Read more
Coming to the table to talk about farm transition
Farmers often stop me in the hall of conferences to ask deeper questions that are keeping them awake at night. The most common question is, “Elaine, how do we even get people to the table? My parents are refusing to talk, and my grandparents are even more stubborn!” Farm families are stuck because they give[...]
Read more
Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
