On Thursday, March 6, LTLT hosted a workshop designed to help farmers, landowners, and their families develop a framework for informed decision-making. We can all agree that a lot of farm wealth in western North Carolina is going to pass from its current owners to someone new over the next two decades. How much of that farm wealth—both field and forest—will remain open, in farm and forest production, depends on today’s decisions. Experience tells us that the better families deal with difficult transfer issues, the more farm and forest resources and wealth will be available for use by the next generation. To assist in this educational effort, the North Carolina Farm Transition Network (NCFTN) has published an accompanying workbook. This workbook includes narrative materials on important planning issues, as well as worksheets to help begin putting thoughts in writing. It also guides the collection of information on goals and priorities, retirement planning, setting up and conducting family meetings, inventorying farm resources, and financial data on personal and farm business assets.
The first edition of this workbook is available for download at www.ncftn.org or by calling 919-732-7539. This 2008 program is supported by the Southern Region Risk Management Education Center.
