Now is the time to identify your current health insurance plan and decide to either stick with the status quo or change benefit plans. If you’re fortunate to be happy with what you have, then a simple reenrollment works. If your operation has changed over the year – budget and payroll – you might need to reevaluate your offerings.

Running a multigenerational family business is no small feat. Passing on a successful operation where multiple generations are motivated to work, take risks and raise their families is yet another feat. But each is possible, even highly likely, by following this blueprint for motivating the next generation.

It is time to stop guessing what everyone thinks, feels, wants and needs. Explore what stories your grandparents, parents and siblings are telling themselves about the future and transition of wealth on your farm. Ask Grandpa or Mom, “I’m just curious, what is the story you are telling yourself? Is this a scarcity mindset issue? How much is enough? Would you ask for the help of a financial planner to give you more financial security and certainty for your income streams as you age in place on this farm?”

When it comes to farm versus household accounts, separate checking, savings and other accounts can safeguard business funds from personal ones, allow farms to monitor farm spending more easily and assist with recordkeeping of the farm’s finances.

In a breakout session presentation at the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit, held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, last February, Sarah Moag discussed management transitions and employee management strategies that have worked for her business, Noblehurst Farms, in western New York.

As silage season approaches, now is the time to start having conversations about silage safety with your children. It is also the right time to put practices into place that will make this silage season safe. Here are five tips to help you keep this silage season safe for your children. 

You never hear someone say they love farming because they love sitting in a meeting room talking about business. They will probably say they’d rather be doing anything else – with animals, crops, machinery, you name it – than sitting in meetings.

Family business succession that builds family relationships and continues to perpetuate a successful business requires attention, time investment, deliberate planning and communication.

About one-third of all farm incidents involve children, and every three days a child in the U.S. dies in a farm-related incident. Prevent your child from becoming a statistic by being proactive about practicing safety on the farm.

Feeling good about yourself can help the family farm succeed by making you better at making decisions, dealing with problems, negotiating and leading.