One night in 1985 I got a conspiratorial phone call.
The unidentified caller told me a farm was going to be taken back from the bank the next day, and named a hotel lobby where I could meet them to be guided to the farm to cover the story.
I was a television news reporter with CBC at the time, and my beat was agriculture and resources. The group taking back the farm wanted coverage to show how the poor farmer was being victimized bythe evil bankers, and how the neighbours were pulling togetherto do something about it.
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It was one of the saddest stories I ever covered. Not because the man was losing his farm to the bank, but because he had never learned how to manage a farm in the first place.
When I pulled into the farmyard with my cameraman the next morning, a quick look around told me this was a backward operation. The whole place looked run down. The house didn’t even have running water or indoor plumbing. In one corner of the farmyard was the concrete base for a silo that had never been erected, and there was no evidence the silo was needed to begin with.
Then I met the unfortunate couple who was losing the farm. They were in their mid-50s. As I interviewed them, the real story unfolded.
The man’s father had died about four years earlier. Besides the farm, he had owned a small construction company and made all the decisions for both operations. The boy worked the farm, but never managed it. When the old mandied, the boy, now over 50, finally got the chance to try some of the things he had always wanted to.
The farm was debt-free when he inherited it, but within a few years he had run up a large debt that he could not repay. To the bank’s credit, it had hired a consultant to work with the farmer to come up with a plan for the money it was lending him. The consultant should have lost his licence for going along with the “boy’s” wildly optimistic plans.
There were a lot of city media types there that day who dutifully told the “victim farmer, evil banker” story as planned. I didn’t.
I have seen and heard of similar situations over the years where fathers never let their kids make any of the farm decisions. Invariably, the youngster goes bankrupt.
Contrast that with my friends Don and Bev Campbell, who ranch near Meadow Lake, Sask.
When Scott, the oldest of the Campbell’s four children, turned 16, Don had him help do the annual financial plan for the ranch. Scott and his brother had complained good-naturedly about how their dad got to sit in the cool office every summer doing the financial plan, while they had to work out in the heat with the hired man putting up hay and moving cattle.
After the first day in the office with Don poring over the books, Scott wondered whether he might be allowed go back out and work in the heat.
The other children, when their turn came, had to learn how to do the planning too.
The Campbell family has practised holistic management since the 1980s, and Don and Bev had a goal of doing other things with their lives before they got too old. They knew if they wanted their kids to take over the ranch, they had to teach them how to run it.
By the time Scott was in his early 20s,he had taken over the ranch from his parents, and they were free.
There is a natural arc to a human life. When men and women hit their 50s, they go through some physical and psychological changes that make them better suited to passing their knowledge on to the next generation.
Other societies have known this for a long time, and acted accordingly. We seem to be slow at it. Especiallyus men.
I have talked to thousands of farm and ranch families over the years, most of whom hope at least one of their children will be interested in the farm. But the men don’t want to let go of control, and it won’t work any other way.
If you are hoping one of your kids will want to take over the farm or ranch, you must do a few things:
- Start by giving the child at least one enterprise that he or she is totally in charge of. They make all the decisions, and when someone such as a feed salesman or buyer calls and asks you about it, you tell them to talk to your son or daughter.
- Have regular meetings – weekly is best – and do more listening than talking.
- Make a working agreement and succession plan, in writing, with dates for when you will turn over full control of the operation and start enjoying retirement.
You may need professional help working through the details, including having an outside facilitator help your family talk to each other about what each person wants. You will need professional advice in drawing up the legal succession plans.
Then get on with helping your son or daughter become a successful manager. And don’t wait until they are 50 and you are old and decrepit. If you simply have to be in charge all the time, pray none of your kids will be dumb enough to try ranching with you, and get some therapy.
Edmonton-based Noel McNaughton is a professional speaker, facilitator, coach and writer who specializes in guiding men and women through the uncertainty of life transitions. He can be reached at 1-877-736-1552 or by e-mail at noel@mcnaughton.ca.
