| | | The Brey families address the challenges of transition planning. | With multiple generations involved in many family farms, much planning is involved when an individual farm transitions from one generation to the next. "Planning is a key because you can't afford to have interruptions," says Bruce Jones, professor of agricultural economics at University of Wisconsin-Madison and a farm management specialist for UW-Extension. "When a business transitions to the next generation, you want as little dispute and confusion as possible." In order to transition to the fourth generation of Breys running Cycle Farm, parents Bill and Clarice and their son Tony enrolled in the Wisconsin Dairy Farm Management Team program to better understand business planning, future expansions and passing the farm to the next generation. "Formally bringing the next generation into the family business is an exciting time," Moriah (Tony's wife) says. "However, the decisions that need to be made in regards to how to grow, structure and run the business are dynamic, and they can bring their own set of challenges." It is in these transitions that Wisconsin's family farms grow stronger, and they're providing the foundation for new generations of farmers to come. "A strong family farm is a strong family business, one that understands what the odds are for entering into a profitable enterprise," says Jones. "One of the keys is that everybody (on a family farm) understands that there's a business expectation to the farm. It has to be profitable." There are going to continue to be family farms in Wisconsin, Jones predicts. These farm families, who figure out the transitions: "They will be the farmers of the future."
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