The important reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it, but rather what he becomes by it.

In a family business, it’s not possible to live well, understand stewardship nor practice husbandry without first identifying and reaching agreement on owners’ values and expectations. Accomplishing that is highly probable with minimal facilitation provided the owners know what they want, are participatory and have a history of being clear and dignified with one another.

For many sole proprietors, not having been exposed to the challenges/opportunities presented by being a member of a complex Ag. Business ownership, presents initial challenges in comprehensive planning, particularly with thinking through expectations of what they want their business to perform for them beyond providing a job. Also, if there are no junior generations, there may be some uncertainty about the utility of physical succession planning. Invariably however, the continuation of the ideals of one’s life’s work, honoring the investments and culture of the past, and continuity of those ideals and investments into the future are benefits for everyone, regardless of the ownership design.

If the business has multiple owners who have a history of cooperation and communication, it is recommended that they enter into a formal engagement with each other to commit to complete Agland’s facilitated family business planning exercises or some similarly functional vehicle. This method is inexpensive, but absolutely requires a disciplined time commitment and a front-end agreement and commitment to process. It also requires the designation of a facilitator either from within the group of owners or a hired third party professional (e.g. the accountant). If the ownership is complex, it’s best to hire a proven consultant to facilitate the workbook e.g. see http:// www. familybusinessmgt.com/aboutus, or ask Agland about potential local facilitators.

Owners can effectively go straight to the strategy and operations plans if owner value is clearly defined and agreed-to, and succession of control, ownership and management is already described with procedure. If no succession plan exists, the owners can be developing the succession plan during the compilation of the land assessment, using Agland’s Defining Secession worksheet, Planmaker ™ or some other vehicle.

Moderately difficult farm & ranch family relationships are unfortunately normal. Clear expectations and transparent succession decision procedures are the solution to happy working families. Unfortunately, those are often missing in hard-working Ag. family businesses. And, as ownerships become more complex over time, and the complexities and demands of ownership increase, resource land based business tend to magnify those kind of issues. Moderate dysfunction between owners is a challenge, and may require specialized facilitation.

Resource land business planning is a participatory exercise. Discovering and crafting the vision should involve all owners. The succession plan should involve all owners as well. The physical land plan is most effectively developed with the participation of one or two owner representatives working in the field with the plan consultant, with defined owner values and vision as a guide. Land planning constitutes a significant time commitment for the owner representatives (estimated 250 hours over a period of up to two years).