Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2017

the next generation
financial and legal experts.
The book, which was released
in March, is full of tips and resources
that help to guide the
succession-planning process.
The guide – “Your Farmland
and the Future: Setting
Goals, Taking Action” – was
authored by Teresa Opheim,
senior fellow with Practical
Farmers of Iowa and editor of
the book “The Future of Family
Farms: Practical Farmers’
Legacy Letter Project” (University
of Iowa Press 2016).
To download a copy, visit
peoplescompany.com/company/farm-succession-planning.
For a copy of the guide,
contact Peoples Company,
info@PeoplesCompany.com
or (855) 800-5263.
Bruere grew up on a farm
in Warren County and is an
off-farm heir of the family
farm that his parents and
older brother run. He understands
firsthand what the future
holds for him and others
of his generation.
“This is a topic near and
dear to me,” he said. He sees
the struggle it is for young
farmers to build capital and
acquire machinery. He’s also
seen those same farmers
struggle when a parent or
other relative dies and ownership
of the land becomes complicated
and/or expensive.
“If there’s not a plan in
place, people’s lives can get
turned upside down real
quick,” he said.
“Using conservative estimates,
nearly 50 percent of
Iowa farmland could transfer
in some form or fashion over
the next 20 years,” Bruere
wrote in the white paper’s introduction.
With that in mind,
he and others on the publication
team talked about what
topics would be important to
include and how to make the
information accessible.
“Previous things written
about this topic are very technical
and academic. We were
trying to get people to read
this,” he said of the decision
to include many first-person
stories.
“We’re hoping this white
paper serves as a wake-up
call for those who need it, and
a reminder for those in the
process to commit to seeing it
through.” n
“If there’s
not a plan
in place,
people’s
lives can
get turned
upside down
real quick.”
— steve bruere
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fall 2017 | Eastern Iowa Farmer 95