{"id":2011,"date":"2021-11-12T10:17:41","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T16:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.encore-consultants.net\/stagingNov2022\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2021-11-12T10:33:23","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T16:33:23","slug":"conversations-families-must-have","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.encore-consultants.net\/stagingNov2022\/conversations-families-must-have\/","title":{"rendered":"The conversations families must have if they want to keep the farm together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t
When it comes to Transition Planning, communication is the foundation.<\/h6>\n\n\t\n

This was the case with my friend Bob.\u00a0 He was so delighted when both his son and daughter decided to come back to the family farm.\u00a0 In addition, their spouses also chose to join the operation.<\/p>\n

For the first year, it was smooth sailing.\u00a0 Together the family made plans to expand the dairy operation.\u00a0 Then, in a blink of an eye, things went south.\u00a0 No one agreed on the methods, operational protocols, or roles.\u00a0 There were even disagreements about the culture and farm values.<\/p>\n

Bob was discouraged; he assumed they would all be in constant agreement since his children were raised on the farm.\u00a0 He did not believe there would be any conflict among family members, the same people who loved each other.<\/p>\n

He felt his family had reached a roadblock.<\/p>\n\t\n

As farms transition from one generation to the next or add more family members to the team, the family may become less unified over time.<\/p>\n

Often there are more ASSUMPTIONS than actual communication around crucial topics.<\/h6>\n

In most cases, these topics are not discussed, and they are part of the culture.\u00a0 Yet values and culture can change if it is not often reaffirmed and communicated to all parties.<\/p>\n

Why does a family tend to splinter apart?<\/h6>\n

Each generation beyond the founder has a slightly different set of values passed to them from other parents.\u00a0 In Bob’s case, the brother and sister were raised the same, but they each married someone different and raised their families differently.\u00a0 These differences are magnified over time and are a significant reason family farms often don’t last three or more generations.<\/p>\n\t

A solution is to reaffirm core values, principles, and culture based on the following areas.\u00a0 By doing so, the odds significantly increase that your family farm legacy will continue.<\/h6>\n