Guide to help with the hard decisions
The number of farms undergoing a succession-planning process is expected to peak in the next five years, and to help families move through this period, the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), with the support of AWI and other major agricultural organisations, has put together a Succession Planning Guide.
Launched at July’s Victorian Agribusiness Forum Summit at Ballarat, the guide was produced because farm succession planning is becoming a big issue for Australian agriculture.
Although the average age of Australian farmers is 54, in broadacre farming 25 per cent of farm owner/managers are over the age of 65. Across all industry sectors only five per cent of owner/managers are over 65. Research also indicates that of the 15,000 primary producers in South Australia, 27 per cent will be retired or semi-retired in the next five years, with 47 per cent of them not having planned for succession.
The Succession Planning Guide contains case studies based on the experiences of 15 farm families. The guide covers ‘front-end’ options when people are entering a business, either through invitation or marriage, and ‘back-end’ options when they are leaving.
More information: For a copy of the guide contact the AWI Helpline, 1800 070 099
Return to Beyond the Bale Issue 29 index page.