Morning, Grower.

First off, thanks for all the responses last week!

The people have spoken.

Most of y’all (54.17%) want medium length, a good balance of detail and brevity.

We’ll focus on medium length and mix it up here and there — depending on what’s going on in Ontario of course.

On another note, Happy Family Day! 

Today, you might be around family soooo… we decided to put together some succession planning resources. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 

Succession Planning in Ontario

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs published a succession planning guide in 2020 that is still relevant today.

We put together a summary and included some additional resources below.

You can find the full guide here: full guide

Farm Succession Planning for Ontario Farmers

Let’s define it first.

Succession planning is a structured process ensuring a smooth transition of farm ownership, management, and labour to the next generation.

Key Steps in Succession Planning

• Prepare for Succession – Establish clear values, vision, and goals. Open communication within the family is critical.

• Gather and Analyze Information – Assess farm profitability, financial stability, and legal considerations. Collect business and financial documents.

• Explore Options – Identify succession pathways (e.g., family transfer, sale, or partnerships). Assemble a professional advisory team, including accountants and lawyers.

• Make Preliminary Decisions – Determine roles, responsibilities, and the successor’s training.

• Develop and Implement the Plan – Establish timelines, legal agreements, and tax strategies to ensure smooth ownership transfer.

Important Considerations

• Fairness Among Family Members – Address how assets will be divided, ensuring financial security for retiring owners while supporting the successor.

• Legal & Tax Implications – Consider wills, trusts, estate freezes, and the Capital Gains Exemption for farmland.

• Retirement Planning – Plan for financial independence post-transition while maintaining farm viability.

Additional Succession Resources:

🟢 Farm Life Services — A partnership between the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and Farm Life offers OFA members 10% off their succession planning services. Farm Life specializes in empowering farm families to have important conversations about the future of their family farm.

🟢 Financial Literacy and Farm Succession Planning Roadshow — The OFA and Farm Life Financial offer educational events across Ontario, including seven in-person education days and a virtual session — some of which are coming up soon!

🟢 Farmers' Bridge — This new service helps farms with generational transitions, offering on-demand video training courses such as Transition Foundations and Transition Communication through their learning platform at utensil.ca.

Ontario Election Day

A quick reminder: Election Day is on Feb 27th, so make sure to cast your vote!

For voting locations, click this link: Ontario Voting

We’d love your input! If you have a content suggestion or question, reply to this email or email us at [email protected]