Farm Family Help

Farm Family Help

Farm Family Help. I'm Greg Martin with Colorado Ag Today.

Family farms have all kinds of issues today from federal legislations to keeping the kids interested in agriculture. Jeff Tranel, Agricultural & Business Management Economist with Colorado State Extension says communication is a key element.

TRANEL: Two specific tools that we share with people, family counsel meetings and family business meetings and the family counsel meetings are those gatherings of the entire family, those involved in the farm and those not. And it encourages people to voice concerns, voice encouragement, voice perceptions both involved and not involved.

He says that's really important especially for those family members that have moved away from the farm.

TRANEL: The family business meetings are those types of meetings with the farm family. Those family members involved in the farm business including daughters and sons-in-laws to talk about the general direction of the farm, what's going on, what are our finances. Not management decisions such as what type of cattle do we raise or what breed of wheat are we going to have this year but the larger umbrella issues.

And of course there are educational programs to help with this.

TRANEL: We developed the "Lasting Legacy" course which is available for people online. We have a workbook, which is available online as well, that give people some examples of how to write things down. Sometimes we just need a blank form to just get started.

And that's Colorado Ag Today. I'm Greg Martin, thanks for listening on the Ag Information Network of the West.

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