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| I'm in same boat without being married or having kids. I'm 25 and my dad is 60. Up until about 10 years ago my dad was a full-time teacher and farmed and ranched in the summer for 30+ years(he is the in-law-ouch) I started my own operation when I was 17. I bought 25 bred cows and "rented" (blood sweat and tears was the payment) ground from my dad and used his equipment. Well over the years I've done well enough I started renting a lil more land and then built my cattle to 60. Well long story short of it when I went to college I didn't really want to expand much more so I bought some equipment for the operation and dad paid me custom hire to spray and combine. Works out for the two of us because I'm guaranteed set amount of acres and he saves money over hiring it out. Fast foward to today. I have land from my grandfather(i'm lucky i know) but I don't charge my dad rent for it, i feel like that is shooting ourselves in the foot. Now we are looking to move our financials to a new institution and bringing me and my assests into a partnership with him. While I'm an employee, my dad is giving the reins to me, and he already has on the production side of things. My dad trusts me with some BIG decisions and there is no doubt he is my BIGGEST supporter. He has been put through a lot of tough times by his father-in-law and i got to see first hand how that lack of support from the older generation to the next can set an operation back in a HUGE way. Now, don't get me wrong, my Gpa was my biggest influence of my life and I loved him more than anybody, but by holding everything close to his chest till he was 86 put our operation in such a bad hole when dad took over it was unbelievable. This whole hard knock way is good for teaching lessons but it can really hinder an operation from a smooth succession into the next generation. Be prepared on here because you and me to a few of these ag talkers are ungrateful young know-it-all's. It is kind of sad because honestly my goal now is to set up my life here and take care of my mom and dad in the future. But I'm not doing this to make a good lifestyle, i'm doing this because I love it and i'm doing it for my kids that aren't even on the ground yet. Family always comes first here and then the farm is a close second. Advice is to look at some alternative ways to expand, through equipment or custom hire. As far as you and your dad, has to be a mutual trust on personal level first(no competition, you're a team!) and then a mutual trust on the business side. It is tough sometimes, but i wouldn't have it any other way, I LOVE working with my dad and for him. Goodluck to you! | |
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Tips for making Father/Son Farm Partnership work
