'It's not like selling a house': As farmers age, more look at who will take over

As farmers on Prince Edward Island near retirement, discussions about what will happen to their operations are becoming more common. 

More and more farmers are considering succession planning, according to the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture. 

"It's not like selling a house. You can't just wake up one day and put it on the market," said Donald Killorn, the federation's executive director.

"You're much better served to have a plan to ensure it happens in a coordinated way." 

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The average P.E.I. farm operator is about 56 years old, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. 

Killorn said that while farmers worked to give their children opportunities to pursue careers in other fields, it left a gap in their absence. 

"What we see is a generation of farm kids who've grown up to be doctors and lawyers and ... almost being pushed off the farm," he said. 

'Renewed interest'

But Killorn added he's seeing "the pendulum swinging" now, as the generation that followed looks at farming as a possibility.

"There's a renewed interest in agriculture from people who are sort of just now deciding on their career path," he said. 

"Facilitating those young farmers and finding a way for them to take ownership of these operations is going to really serve Prince Edward Island in the sustainability of agriculture here and into the future." 

Having a plan allows both the current operator and the one buying it over to take advantage of beneficial tax structures, Killorn said.

While those structures are more beneficial to inter-family transfers, farmers are also looking elsewhere. 

"They're looking to employees, to folks sort of off-farm, looking for any opportunities they can to pass the farm on," he said. 

'Big shoes to fill'

It's been a tough few years for some farmers, with Fiona, the potato wart trade dispute, and the effects of climate change. But agriculture is still one of the Island's top industries. 

Farm Credit Canada, a Crown corporation that provides financing and other services to more than 102,000 customers, says it's also seeing a jump in farmers getting ready to hand over the reins to someone else.

But that transition could still be several years away, said Terry Jones, an advisory services supervisor with FCC. 

"We haven't got to the finish line," Jones said. "I think there are more people that are in the race now moving forward, but I think we're not going to see a lot of transitions actually occur until we get a few years down the road."

In his role at FCC, Jones meets with farm families to go through "pre-transition planning" in which they discuss the financials and logistics around transferring ownership of the operation.

He works as an intermediary between the families and the lawyers and accountants needed to make the transfer happen. 

There's such a large learning curve.​​​​​- Terry Jones, Farm Credit Canada

With tighter profit margins and higher asset values, Jones said the next generation of farmers has a tough job. 

"There's such a large learning curve," Jones said, adding that the average transfer takes about three to five years. 

"You're the CEO making all the decisions. Those are big shoes to fill." 

The P.EI. government said it is aware of the importance of succession planning in the farming industry. It said there has been a growing interest in its programs helping those looking to get into agriculture.