INTERPRETING TRANSITIONAL CHALLENGES FACED BY PENNSYLVANIA DAIRY FARMERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
Open Access
- Author:
- Branstetter, Casey Elizabeth
- Area of Honors:
- Agribusiness Management
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Stanley Carlton Ernst, Thesis Supervisor
David Gerard Abler, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- succession
succession planning
transition
business transition
transition planning
generation
Pennsylvania Dairy farm
farm family
business planning
small business
dairy industry - Abstract:
- The Pennsylvania dairy industry is in a time of transition. Farm facilities are becoming outdated and economic realities have shifted to larger-scale, more automated processing. In addition to the need for significant investments in facilities, the majority of principal farm operators are aging toward retirement or semi-retirement. Through in-depth interviews with nine Pennsylvania dairy farm families, this study documents and interprets the business and social concerns of dairy farm families as they address aging or other life-changes that affect their plans for transitioning out of the industry. The majority of participants reported enduring some type of major shock (death, divorce, drug abuse, injury, etc.) to their family and/or business, most often with negative impacts. Some farmers develop transition plans prior to major shocks happening. Others, unfortunately, do not plan until it is too late. Undesired consequences of having no succession plan in place may include substantial tax obligations and legal fees, the forced running of the business by unprepared owners, family conflict, and the division or liquidation of farm assets. Few previous studies analyze dairy farm succession planning in context of business shocks. Very little literature addresses the post-shock reality of farm businesses and families forced to decide how to transition after a major disturbance to the operation occurs. Further, existing literature fails to tie the issues faced by farm families together with existing assistance resources available to them, recommendations for additional investigation, or succession planning case study scenarios that they may be able to relate to for further guidance. Our small sample size of should not be generalized to the larger Pennsylvania dairy farm family population. However, the findings of this study do provide insight for farms with characteristics similar to its population. It is also fair to say that many, if not all, dairy farmers will find some observations here that may be applied to their own situation. The primary conclusions include recommendations for the development of new succession planning material and service resources, along with the identification of subject areas where industry experts might focus their efforts. It will be the combined job of dairy farmers and industry experts to apply these results toward continuation and long-term success of dairy farms in the state.