Farmers are invited to participate in a national survey which hopes to put quantify how effective farm business succession works
More than 700 responses are sought for a farm business succession survey, with the aim of putting data behind anecdotes.
The survey is led by a team from University of New England, which describes it as the first national survey of farm business succession in 20 years.
It aims to achieve a big enough sample size to put data behind why some families effectively manage farm succession and others do not.
“We hope that the survey will provide contemporary insights into how families succeed at this process, and why they fail,” senior lecturer and survey co-creator Lucie Newsome says.
“We’re hoping for a coast-to-coast geographical spread of respondents; representation from across all the mainstream agriculture sectors; and importantly, reporting of succession experiences from awful to excellent.”
When succession is not managed effectively, it can lead to disastrous consequences for the business and family relationships, plus the rural communities which rely on intergenerational farming families to support its physical and social infrastructure.
Newsome says while families which have experienced an unsuccessful transition may still be recovering from their experience, she hopes that telling their story through the anonymous and confidential survey can help prevent others from going through similar things.
“Just as successful succession means that families can continue farming the same land for generations, failed succession can damage relationships in ways that persist for generations,” she says.
“No-one wants to live with that stress and sadness.
“We know it will be particularly hard for those who have been through a really terrible experience, one that might have torn their family apart, to sit down and revisit that time.
“But by doing so, they may help other families avoid the problems that the survey respondent faced.”
More broadly, it is hoped that collating both positive and negative experiences from families will provide a clearer picture of how farm succession should work.
“The information will support farm groups and consultants who are working to improve the farm succession process,” Newsome says.
“Even if it just provokes some reflection on when the process should start, it might contribute to more successful outcomes.
“At the very least, it may be a way of starting that most difficult of conversations.”