About this eBook
‘Kate’s style is so engaging that the most reticent Aussie farm male cannot help but smile and warm to these messages.’ – Professor Bill Malcolm
Successful farm succession doesn’t just happen; it takes work. And it starts with people, not balance sheets. It’s a long, honest conversation about what really matters to the people we love, the place we care for and the business that sustains us.
Succession is a human transition that can save a family or split it. In clear, practical terms, Dr Kate Burke explores succession from three vantage points: the older generation who hold the keys, don’t know how to hand them over and baulk at choosing favourites; the next generation working on the farm who want certainty about their future while managing someone else’s assets; and farmless siblings who didn’t stay on the land but still care deeply about it. Healthy family dynamics make for smoother succession.
This isn’t a legal or financial manual. It’s a guide to doing the human work well. Inside you’ll find steps to prepare for hard conversations and keep them calm and productive. There are simple checklists to surface assumptions, set boundaries and avoid blow-ups; plain English scripts for raising tricky topics and repairing after flare-ups; ways to include every generation (and the off-farm siblings) without derailing the process; and a method for moving from talk to follow-through with roles, timelines and accountability. All grounded in real farm realities of cash flow, seasons, land and stories of people who made succession work.
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About the author
‘What sets this book apart, is that it puts the human side of succession front and centre – the motivations, emotions and generational differences that shape so many decisions on-farm.’ – Fiona Dempster
‘Kate’s style is so engaging that the most reticent Aussie farm male cannot help but smile and warm to these messages.’ – Professor Bill Malcolm
Successful farm succession doesn’t just happen; it takes work. And it starts with people, not balance sheets. It’s a long, honest conversation about what really matters to the people we love, the place we care for and the business that sustains us.
Succession is a human transition that can save a family or split it. In clear, practical terms, Dr Kate Burke explores succession from three vantage points: the older generation who hold the keys, don’t know how to hand them over and baulk at choosing favourites; the next generation working on the farm who want certainty about their future while managing someone else’s assets; and farmless siblings who didn’t stay on the land but still care deeply about it. Healthy family dynamics make for smoother succession.
This isn’t a legal or financial manual. It’s a guide to doing the human work well. Inside you’ll find steps to prepare for hard conversations and keep them calm and productive. There are simple checklists to surface assumptions, set boundaries and avoid blow-ups; plain English scripts for raising tricky topics and repairing after flare-ups; ways to include every generation (and the off-farm siblings) without derailing the process; and a method for moving from talk to follow-through with roles, timelines and accountability. All grounded in real farm realities of cash flow, seasons, land and stories of people who made succession work.
