This interview with young farmer Charlotte Wundersitz on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) – Women need more say in Farm Succession Plan is a shining example of the shift in the farming industry.
Gone are the days where the farm is left to the sons and the daughters are expected to “marry well”.
In some cases, our client’s say their daughters are more efficient workers than their sons. And increasingly more, we are being told by our clients, their daughter has undertaken tertiary studies and are able to modernise the farming procedures that ultimately make the family farming business more profitable. So their role on the farm is not necessarily working ‘in’ the farm, but working ‘on’ the farm. Although, like most things in life, circumstances change. A well-constructed succession plan will allow for those changes and enable family members to change their roles within the family farm business.
As succession lawyers, we deal with these issues on a day to day basis, especially when implementing a plan for rural clients with family farming businesses. Getting the balance right between ‘when’ and ‘to whom’ is the key to a successful family business succession plan.