How to grow successful partnerships with kids who return to the farm

Apr 27, 2021

Children returning to the family farm from higher education, or another career often bring new ideas and perspectives with them. They also have hopes and expectations, just like the older generation.

For some farm families, realistic planning and open communication are critical to achieving those expectations. Only then can they converge on what most benefits the farm business and those involved.

Put goals to paper

For Lauren Maurer and her husband Ryan, farmers from Grenfell, Sask., bringing the next generation into the farm begins with a spreadsheet. They use it to document everyone’s goals and what they see themselves doing on the farm for the next few years.

This basic visual allows them to discuss how the goals could be achieved – and if they’re realistic.

“It’s a way of communicating and allowing her to take a step,” says Maurer about their daughter (one of their three children), who now manages most of the farm’s financial records.

Maurer uses a red light, yellow light, green light system in conjunction with the spreadsheet. Ideas deemed workable get the greenlight and those requiring more work receive yellow.

In cases where the younger generation’s goals are not perceived to make sense or not supported by the older generation, instead of an immediate red light, they hold roundtable discussions to see if they can find middle ground.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.