Women Leading Multi-Generation Family Farms

On a farm with several generations involved, one woman may be the person everyone calls about the bank, the calves and the Sunday lunch. That can indicate tremendous trust. It can also give her a job with enough duties to keep three people employed and no visible authority to assign any of them. A useful leadership meeting starts by naming the actual work and the current owners of each decision.

“I don't just run the farm — I outrun the sunrise.”

Put decisions on a short list

Choose six recurring decisions the family cares about. Include equipment spending, employee scheduling, field plans, cash management, customer commitments and time off. Assign names for who decides, who supplies information and who acts as backup. Set an amount or kind of commitment that calls for a second approval. Review authority with the lender, insurer and other relevant professionals if an outside organization must recognize it.

Let the newer lead run the first meeting and summarize what people agreed to. Invite the most experienced operator to explain the history of one recurring issue. A useful account of why the north field stays out of a particular crop can save money. A third retelling of which cousin once parked a truck under a leaking shed may have to wait for dinner.

Make room for knowledge and measurable goals

Ask each person to name one thing they want the business to keep and one practical change they would test. Write measurable results for the trial. A daughter considering a different delivery schedule could track mileage, missed calls and time away from field work. A retiring operator may want to preserve a good relationship with a buyer and can introduce her as the person handling the new schedule.

Use Iowa State University Extension's Farm Business Transfer Process to see how planning, management responsibilities and business agreements fit into a staged transition. Bring your discussion notes to a qualified attorney and accountant before signing changes that affect assets, liability or taxes.

Separate business meetings from family gatherings

Hold a short meeting with a specific agenda and a stopping time. Start with the past week's decisions and any task somebody could not complete. Keep disagreements tied to a concrete choice or consequence. Write down one follow-up per issue, with a named person and a date. Share the notes through a channel everyone actually uses. A notebook on the kitchen counter can work if participants know where it is and can check it.

Decide what to do when someone is absent

Plan a trial weekend or a period when the usual lead does not answer routine calls. Give the backup access and limits in advance. Review which decisions waited because a supplier did not know whom to call or because the backup lacked an account contact. Correct the handoff and try again.

If the family can take a Sunday off without the grain buyer calling three people, the decision process is getting clearer. The next step may be a written operating plan that gives the person doing the work both responsibility and the ability to act.