The Australian Farmer

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the australian farmer

Succeeding in succession

My cousin Colin now runs the farm and generations later we’re healing old wounds. In compari- son to other local families who have experienced a messy succes- sion, we’re lucky that all brothers stayed close until their deaths and Colin is a close part of our family. Because of this closeness, Colin told me he always felt a sense of guilt from Jack missing out which led him to sell some of the prop- erty to my brother to, in Colin’s words, “right a past wrong”. From Temora to Tenterfield you could go into any pub, mention suc- cession planning, and hear a similar story of broken families and broken dreams. But why, after years of suc- cession being in the spotlight, are we still getting it so wrong? Succession planning on family farms is an essential part of a successful business, but in Australia it is an underappreciated and often messy matter. Founder of Fledgling Farmers and 2018 ABC Trailblazer Alana Black writes about her personal experiences with succession planning and how communication is key.

FROM FATHER TO SON My life changed after asking my mother the simple question, “why are we not on the farm anymore?” Like most families, it’s difficult to explain our experience with succession. My ancestors, the Applebees, migrated to Australia from Yorkshire in the 1860s and settled on a little hill atop the Great Dividing Range. And we’ve never left – the original farm is still in the family today, just not within my direct line. My grandfather, Jack, grew up on the farm. Jack left school at age 12 to contribute to the family business and spent his time pick- ing apples and cherries and tend- ing to livestock. It was an idyllic albeit modest life, though with

two brothers and six sisters the farm couldn’t realistically sup- port them all. When Jack’s father died, the farm was left to his two other brothers and not another word was said about it. I have no doubt that my grandfather suffered a lot of self-doubt from missing out on the farm and his sisters were expected to marry farmers – not become one. The fact that only the sons were considered for succession is not lost on me. In Australia it is estimated that only 10 per cent of farm successors are daugh- ters. Jack and his sisters lost an important part of their identity when they lost the farm and it’s something I’m still trying to understand.