PRESTON, ID — University of Idaho Extension is asking Eastern Idaho farmers to take part in a new online survey aimed at improving its long-running succession planning workshops. The survey will guide the format, content, frequency and locations of future sessions and will remain open through the end of the year.
UI Extension has offered succession planning workshops for several years, helping farm families begin conversations about how to transition land and assets to the next generation — a discussion many producers find difficult to start.
The 15-question survey seeks feedback on what farmers want from the workshops and asks them to identify barriers that have slowed or stopped their own planning efforts. According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the average Idaho farmer is 56.6 years old, underscoring the need for families to make decisions about the future of their operations.
Shannon Williams, a UI Extension educator in Lemhi County, said the goal is to help families prepare before meeting with attorneys or accountants.
“The goal of the ranch succession workshops is not for them to walk out with a finalized plan but to know how to start the conversation,” Williams said. “That communication piece is the foundation of everything.”
Fourth-generation Swan Lake farmer Glen Merrill, 67, said the workshops allowed his family to establish a clear path for keeping their 2,550-acre farm intact. After attending a session in Franklin County in 2020, they developed a plan to pass the operation to their youngest daughter’s family.
“You have to do this while you can, and it doesn’t happen overnight,” Merrill said. “If you do nothing, then you are in trouble.”
His wife, Julia, noted that equitable solutions don’t always mean equal distribution of assets — a common point addressed in the workshops.
The succession planning team includes UI Extension educators across Eastern Idaho, all trained through Utah State University Extension using curriculum developed by South Dakota State University Extension. UI Extension typically offers at least one training per year in the region, rotating locations to reach more producers. Classes run about six hours over multiple sessions so families have time to complete assignments between meetings.
Extension has also partnered with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, Sagebrush Steppe Regional Land Trust, Teton Regional Land Trust and American Farmland Trust to expand resources for participating families. Conservation easements — often facilitated through land trusts — can help families protect farmland from development while securing funds for retirement or children who do not work in agriculture.
Heath Mann, director of the Sagebrush Steppe Regional Land Trust, said the partnership strengthens efforts to preserve agricultural land.
“We can be a critical tool to help farmers and ranchers of working lands achieve the goals they would like,” Mann said, noting that easements can provide long-term security for both families and working landscapes.
For more information about UI Extension, visit uidaho.edu/extension.
