Groundworks will host its first group in Ontario in February
A new program is available to help Canadian farm families on their succession plan journeys.
Groundworks is a collaborative effort between the Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing, AgriRisk Managers, and Loft32, along with support from AAFC.
The program supports farmers with building blocks related to succession.
“We need to help farmers get some structure of support built so they can find their way through succession planning,” Maggie Van Camp, a co-founder of Loft32, told Farms.com.
The Groundworks team identified three areas where gaps exist in overall farm succession conversations.
Those areas are financial and helping farmers understand their operation’s readiness for transition, communication, and overall stress management.
“We have to normalize that this process is stressful,” Van Camp said. “It’s not all sunshine and the process is non-linear.”
That’s because people are living longer, farm operations are more complex, and the older generation is preparing to leave, while the incoming generation is getting ready to lead, she added.
In Canada, few farms have a succession plan in place.
12 per cent of Canadian farm operations reported having formal succession plan, the 2021 Census of Agriculture said.
And one response in a 2021 study from Canadian researchers identified succession planning as “one of the biggest stresses out there” and contributed to overall stress levels.
Groundworks is planning to host its first group in mid-February with 10 farmers from Eastern Ontario.
Eligibility criteria for farmers includes:
- Must be over 50 years old
- An active outgoing farmer with a successor or potential successor
- No written succession plan
- Digital copies of three years of financial records
The program itself has multiple components.
Selected farmers will participate in 45 minutes of online learning using Utensil.ca’s “Transition Foundations.”
There will be two in-person workshops exploring succession, resilience, and conflict management. Each workshop is two hours long.
Producers will also have a one-hour analysis about their farm financials, and an hourlong online workshop about communication skills.
In addition to documents related to the business farmers will be asked to share personal feelings.
“We want them to share, confidentially, things that go wrong, the stress they’re feeling and to normalize that,” Van Camp said. “And to normalize seeking help in that process. The idea too is that a peer group forms so farmers can learn from one another.”
Groundworks is beginning with the Eastern Ontario program but hopes to expand it in the future.
Any Eastern Ontario farmer over 50 years old and interested in participating in the first Groundworks cohort is encouraged to email Karla Rahn at AgriRisk Managers or call 613-612-7209 before Jan. 23.