For National Agriculture Week, March 16-22, 1997

Contacts:
Lisa Breja, Agricultural Education and Studies, (515) 294-4810
Susan Anderson, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0705

ISU PROGRAM HELPING STUDENTS RETURN TO FAMILY FARMS

AMES -- "Growing Better Every Day -- Together," the theme of National Agriculture Week, is also a good description of what happens on successful family farms, as family members work together to grow food for the world, while putting food on their own tables.

A program at Iowa State University aims to improve the success of family farms. Ag-Link is designed to help College of Agriculture students and their families make the transition to intergenerational farming operations.

The program is sponsored by the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies and the ISU Beginning Farmer Center. The center, created three years ago with funding from the Iowa Legislature, sponsors projects to help beginning farmers.

Ag-Link is geared to juniors and seniors in the college who plan to return to their family farm after graduation. In February, 10 students and their families participated in two weekend workshops, spending a day and a half each time discussing important issues.

Lisa Breja, who organizes Ag-Link, said the first session dealt with goal setting and how to improve communications among family members. The second session covered financial aspects that need to be considered

"We try to steer away from lectures, and instead allow plenty of time for family interaction," Breja said. For instance, the families identify individual and family goals, and then work together to write a mission statement for the family business.

Dave Hommel, a junior from Eldora, said he enjoyed the session where each individual's personality was analyzed. And he found the assignment to write a mission statement in eight words or less to be a challenge. "That helped us focus on where we want to go," he said.

Dave's father, Tim, also praised the program. "There's a lot to think about, and the program helped us work through things. Sometimes the father's goals can be different from the son's, and this forces you to think about some of those things ahead of time," he said.

Tim said the farm he and Dave's mother, Jane, operate isn't currently large enough to support them and Dave. "We'll have to make some changes to make room for him," Tim said.

Dave is well aware the farm operation will need to expand to allow him to return home, and he said the Ag-Link program helped him and his parents discuss options. He said it also made him think, for the first time, about how his younger sister should be involved.

"I hadn't thought about how my sister would feel, until one of the speakers said that often problems arise when daughters or daughters-in-law aren't included in important discussions," he said. That presentation led him to talk with his sister, who is a freshman at ISU, about her hopes for the future. Although she doesn't plan to return to the farm, both Dave and Tim said the Ag-Link program underscored the importance of talking about what future role she may play.

Breja said that's an important aspect of the Ag-Link program. "Often problems arise because the lines of communication aren't open, or some people are not included," she said. "For instance, the wife or daughter-in-law may be left out of the loop because the father and son do their business planning in the shop."

John and Kathy Showalter, Hampton, participated in the program with their son, Matt, who graduates this spring. Kathy termed the program "terrific" and said she went home "excited about the process" of planning for the future.

"I don't think farmers are exposed to these types of planning concepts very often," she said. "This gave us a chance to sit down and talk about lots of important issues." Kathy said she "gained so much by being a part of the discussions with John and Matt."

A new handbook was distributed to Ag-Link participants this year. "Farm Savvy" is a handbook filled with information on goal setting, retirement and estate planning, business planning, alternatives for transfer of farm assets and other issues important to family farmers.

"Farm Savvy" is available through ISU Extension at a cost of $50. It can be ordered through county extension offices or call (515) 294-5247.

Studies show 40 percent of U.S. farmers are age 55 and older. That means there's work to be done to ease the transition of family farms to the next generation. Programs like ISU's Ag-Link are helping.

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