Succession planning requires good communication, but this doesn't mean ineffective meetings. The number one problem with meetings is the lack of structure. 

Jolene Brown was one of more than a dozen industry leaders who recently spoke at the Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference (AWC), which took place on Oct. 30 and 31 at the Hilton Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Good communication is a necessary requirement for farm families to follow through with a succession plan, but what worked a generation ago doesn’t cut it nowadays, according to Richard Cressman, a communication coach based in southeastern Ontario.

Whether you’re at the beginning of the succession planning process, in the midst of transitioning or are about to complete the process, there are different elements to keep in mind.

There’s much more to succession planning than paving the way to financial security, as Lance Stockbrugger, chartered accountant and farmer, knows from working with farming clients over the years.

Many farm families view succession planning as an event rather than a process and that, according to Darrell Wade, founder of Farm Life Financial Planning Group and a certified member of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors, can be a big mistake.