Kevin Spafford, founder of Legacy by Design, discusses the five keys to preserving the farm and passing a successful operation to a well-prepared next generation at the ASA workshop in Fort Wayne, Ind.

ASA continues its regional Succession Planning Workshops this week in Fort Wayne, Ind.

The Succession Planning Workshop titled “Five Keys to Effective Succession Planning,” focused on planning process, good communication strategies and how to overcome obstacles.

In this session, participants learned the five keys to preserving the farm and passing a successful operation to a well-prepared next generation. The five keys to planning success include:

• Planning process
• Overcome obstacles
• Common goals
• Good communication
• Commitment

Attendees of the ASA Succession Planning Workshops say the information provided is invaluable for soybean producers as they prepare to protect their family farms and ensure a profitable business future.

“My wife Linda and I, being close to retirement age thought we needed to start looking at ideas to help continue our family's business,” said David Lowe, Chairman of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and attendee at the workshop. “Our family is a fourth generation family farm with and ag business in Portland Indiana. We needed to start the process because we wanted to continue our legacy and pass it on correctly to the family.This workshop has been very thought provoking.”

The Indiana workshop is the fourth of six regional sessions. This workshop was sponsored by Farm Credit, AGCO, Michigan Soybean Association and Ohio Soybean Association. There are two more workshops Moline, Ill. on Dec.4 and Columbus, Ohio on Jan.  15. For more information about the Succession Planning Workshops click here https://soygrowers.com/succession-planning-workshop/.