Last month, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy partnered with American Farmland Trust to bring a breadth of expertise in succession planning to families with protected land. The event, Heirs and Acres, featured a panel of legal, financial, business, and farming minds to introduce attendees to the succession process and answer the wide array of questions that naturally followed.
Meeting at our Conservation Center in Easton, the venue was fittingly decorated with florals from Wildly Native Flower Farm, a multi-generational family business itself. After our guests and staff enjoyed a locally-sourced dinner together, ESLC President Steve Kline and AFT’s Regional Director Jamie Mierau gave compelling introductions that underscored the importance of succession planning today. Like the country at large, Maryland is losing its farmland. If the loss of our state’s farmland continues at its current rate, Maryland stands to lose an additional 7.8% of this land by 2040. An aging current generation of farmers, land lost due to saltwater intrusion, residential development, and mounting pressures from commercial solar developers make it even more imperative for farming families to agree upon a plan that protects their precious land.
Succession planning isn’t easy. Family conversations can be uncomfortable and decisions can be difficult, but making and maintaining a plan is essential nonetheless. Fortunately, our region is blessed with an abundance of professionals working in all aspects of succession planning, ranging from estate attorneys who protect your assets, to financial advisors who address long-term needs, business planners who build farm viability, and mediators who guide families through difficult conversations. ESLC and AFT’s event served to highlight the availability of these resources to the families we work with, dispelling misconceptions, and inviting conversation among the attendees about their own experiences. Discussions were lively and thoughtful throughout. Acknowledging the elephant in the room that most succession plans come with costs, we were pleased to share that families working with ESLC and AFT staff on their succession plan can request up to $10,000 from the Farm & Ranch Transition Support Grant program to overcome that barrier.
Heirs and Acres was made possible by American Farmland Trust’s Land Transfer Navigators program. As a sub-awardee of this USDA-funded grant program, ESLC has been training our land conservation staff to serve as “navigators,” providing resources for families at all stages of the succession planning process. If you have questions about your succession plan or are interested in grant funding to support it, please reach out to ESLC’s Easement Stewardship Manager Michael Ports at mports@eslc.org
