By Blake Jackson
The University of Kentucky’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, in collaboration with the Cooperative Extension Service, will host the Kentucky Farm Succession Seminar: Building the Bridge to Your Farm’s Future on July 23, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT at the Owensboro Convention Center.
Backed by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, the event aims to equip farm families with tools to navigate transitions and secure the long-term future of their operations.
National, state, and local experts will provide guidance on preserving farmland and managing succession challenges.
According to the Strategic Roadmap for Kentucky Agriculture: 2025-2030, farmland preservation and farm transition planning are top priorities.
The urgency of these issues is underscored by data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture, which revealed Kentucky lost over 500,000 acres of farmland and more than 6,000 farms between 2017 and 2022.
"Farmland continues to be sold and developed at an alarming rate, and that is in part due to farm families not having a clear vision of how to allow the next generation to continue the operation," said Clint Hardy, agriculture and natural resources agent for the Daviess County Cooperative Extension Service and seminar coordinator.
"While age and health challenges are inevitable, farm families can also experience divorce, prolonged production losses or the stress of workforce shortages. It is more important than ever to encourage these conversations long before a health, family or financial issue arises."
Featured speakers include Jolene Brown, a columnist for Successful Farming; Steve Isaacs, UK farm management specialist and extension professor; Aleta Botts, coordinator of the Kentucky Farmland Transition Initiative; and Wesley Tucker, farm and ranch transition specialist with the University of Missouri. The event will also host a panel of estate, business, and financial advisors.
“Farm transition is the one absolute, unavoidable task facing every farm family,” Isaacs said. “It can be done well or poorly. That’s up to the family.”
Registration is required, with costs ranging from $35 to $40 per person, depending on payment method. Lunch is included. For details, call 270-685-8480 or visit https://www.ca.uky.edu/event/kentucky-farm-succession-seminar.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-hirurg
Categories: Kentucky, Business, Education