By Emily Mollenhauer: MDI State Director
It is never too early to start thinking about farm transition. Take a moment and think back to how you acquired your farm. Was it a new purchase or was the farm transitioned from an older generation to you? Did the transition go well? What would you have changed about the transition?
All of these questions are important to think about as you prepare to transition your farm. Whether you like it or not, everyone who owns a farm will have to transition it at some point. The transition may be to a family member of a younger generation that happens over many years, or maybe you want to put your farm up for auction and take the money and be done. Regardless of the end goal of your farms transition, there are many different questions that should be asked and factors that should be considered in planning how you are going to transition your farming operation.
Four different locations of farm transition retreats are being held across Minnesota this winter. These highly anticipated retreats help start the conversation around navigating a farm transition. The dates and locations are as follows:
- Marshall – Merit Center, 1001 Erie Rd, Marshall, MN 56258
- Friday, December 4, 2026 from 5PM – 8:30PM and Saturday, December 5, 2026 from 8:30AM – 4:30PM.
- Red Wing – Pier 55 Red Wing Area Seniors, 240 Harrison St #2, Red Wing, MN 55066
- Friday, January 29, 2027 from 5PM – 8:30PM and Saturday, January 30, 2027 from 8:30AM – 4:30PM.
- North Mankato – South Central College, 1920 Lee Blvd, North Mankato, MN 56003
- Friday, February 19, 2027 from 5PM – 8:30PM and Saturday, February 20, 2027 from 8:30AM – 4:30PM.
- St. Cloud – St. Cloud Technical and Community College – 1540 Northway Drive, St. Cloud, MN 56303 (tentative)t
- Friday, March 12, 2027 from 5PM – 8:30PM and Saturday, March 13, 2027 from 8:30AM – 4:30PM.
Registration is open now using the following link through UMN Extension: Register Here
To learn more you can visit the following link:Farm Transition Retreats
