What is your role on the ranch as you enter your 60s and 70s?
If you’re nearing retirement age, what does the next phase of your life on the ranch look like, and what will you do to make the transition of leadership a smooth one?
January 7, 2019
As a mom raising the sixth generation on our family’s cattle operation, I never take for granted the opportunity to teach my kids important life lessons on the ranch as we continue our family tradition in production agriculture.
Getting to work alongside my husband and my parents each and every day is a blessing. While we aren’t perfect, I think as Millennial producers we bring new ideas, energy and skilled labor to the business. Meanwhile, my Baby Boomer parents are valuable in their wisdom, stability, security, support and seasoned advice.
Of course, now that Tyler and I are in our 30s with three kids of our own, the dynamics start to change compared to when we first got started running cattle in our early 20s. Conversely, as my parents start nearing “retirement age,” their needs and wants are changing, as well.
And just like an awkward teenager entering into adulthood, that shift has its growing pains. It’s not always easy for the older generation to pass the baton to the next. This succession of the head managerial role can take years, if it ever really happens at all.
Yet, to be successful, this leadership role must change hands at some point. I don’t anticipate being the head honcho around the place anytime soon; however, it’s something I’m mindful of the older I get.
Recently, farm succession coach Elaine Froese addressed this topic in an article titled, “Can you be the hired man again?” The article makes a great case for the older generation to ask important questions of what the next chapter in their lives will look like and what it means for the next generation and the future of the business.
Froese writes, “One of the tricks of a great farm succession is the ability of the founder to let go of management, and ultimately ownership. There are many farm dads in their sixties and seventies who just don’t know how to change from being the main manager to ‘the hired man.’