Articles
Short reads from the free guides, one topic at a time. For retiring farmers, farming families, aspiring farmers and their towns.
WHO IT'S FOR
For retiring farmers and their families
AGEING ON FARM
How do farmers retire? Seven ways to step back from the farm
Seven ways farmers can step back from the farm, from a flexible lease to the Cultivate Trust, with the main upside and downside of each.AGEING ON FARMWhat is ageing on farm?
Ageing on farm means staying on your farm as you get older, with the support you need, while someone else takes on the heavy work.AGEING ON FARMWhy letting go of the farm is so hard
Why letting go of the farm is so hard, and what helps: the grief, handing over control, your partner's pace, and your identity as a farmer.AGEING ON FARMShare farming: how it works, with an example
How share farming works for a retiring farmer, who pays for what in a sharefarming agreement, an example, and the benefits and drawbacks.AGEING ON FARMThere is a way to step back from the farm without selling it
Your farm moves into the Cultivate Trust, which runs it on your behalf, with the right farmer on it. What that means for your farm and family.AGEING ON FARMThe practical reasons to stay on your farm as you get older
Staying on the farm as you age is more than sentiment. Your community, your independence, who you are and the farm's value all come into it.AGEING ON FARMLeasing your farm when you retire: how a flexible lease works
How leasing your farm works when you step back, why a flat rent can fail, how a flexible lease shares the seasons, and what to settle first.AGEING ON FARMLease to buy a farm: what it means when you're the owner
How lease to buy works for a retiring farmer: a lease now, an option to buy later at a price agreed today, and the risks on both sides.AGEING ON FARMVendor finance: selling your farm when the buyer can't get a bank loan
How vendor finance lets you sell your farm to someone a bank won't lend to, what you get, what you carry, and why the relationship matters most.AGEING ON FARMCollaborative farming: when neighbouring farmers join forces
How collaborative farming works when neighbouring farmers near retirement, one way to set it up, the trade off in control, and the pros and cons.AGEING ON FARMJoint ventures and equity partnerships: bringing a backer onto the farm
How a joint venture or equity partnership works on a farm, what it offers a farmer stepping back, and the trade offs to weigh up.AGEING ON FARMCan you stay on the farm safely as you get older?
The worry that stops some farmers staying, and the health, legal and support questions that let you stay on the farm safely as you get older.AGEING ON FARMCan the farm fund your retirement? The money questions to ask first
Before choosing how to step back, get clear on what you need the farm to provide: income, cash, super, Centrelink, and the tax questions.AGEING ON FARMReady to step back from the farm? Where to start
You don't need it all worked out to start stepping back from the farm. The timing questions to answer first, and why the decision needs a date.AGEING ON FARMWho could run your farm when you step back?
Finding the right person to run your farm is the hard part. Where to look, closest first, and what to expect.AGEING ON FARMWhat goes in a share farming agreement?
Who the two businesses are, the land and the term, what each side brings, who pays for what, how the income is split, improvements, who decides what, records, and how it ends.AGEING ON FARMHow is a share farm split? The usual shares, and what changes them
The split follows the risk: whoever carries more of the costs takes more of the income, and the right split has to fit what the two of you are carrying on your farm.THE FARM THAT KEEPS GIVINGNo one to hand the farm to? How one grazier could give it to his district
A grazier with no one to take on the farm starts with a sharefarmer, sees it working, then gives the land so it stays farmed and keeps giving to the district.THE FARM THAT KEEPS GIVINGYou own farmland but you don't farm it. Could it give someone a start?
Someone who inherited a farm block and never farmed it puts an aspiring farmer on it through a sharefarm, then gives the land so it keeps giving to the district.THE FARM THAT KEEPS GIVINGNot ready to leave the farm? You can stay, and still plan to give it
A widow on a wheatbelt farm stays in her house while a sharefarmer works the land, and plans for the farm to go to her community in her will.THE FARM THAT KEEPS GIVINGThree small farms, one farmer. How neighbours can give a farmer a full living
Three neighbouring farms too small to support a farmer alone are worked as one, and each landholder keeps their title and decides for themselves whether to give.YOUR FARM, YOUR LEGACYDone with the work, but not done with the farm
The work gets harder, and the farm matters as much as ever. What a retiring farmer carries, and how to hand over the work without handing over everything.YOUR FARM, YOUR LEGACYHow other countries keep their farms farmed
What other countries do to keep working farms working, the six usual ways to step back here and how each one finishes, and one more way.YOUR FARM, YOUR LEGACYHow do you know the next farmer will look after your farm?
Who farms your land next is the biggest call in stepping back. What makes the right farmer, and how to make sure the place is farmed the way you want.YOUR FARM, YOUR LEGACYWhat happens to the farm when there's no one to take it on?
When nobody in the family will farm the place, you still have more than one choice. Four ways forward, and how to weigh them.YOUR FARM, YOUR LEGACYWhen one child carries the farm for the rest
Handing the farm to one child often means debt for them and resentment among the rest. Why a traditional handover is so hard to get fair.Stories we love
AGRICULTURE VICTORIA YOUNG FARMERS NETWORK, 5 JUNE 2026
An older couple share farming with five aspiring farmers
I love these stories because they show both ends of one share farm. A couple in Victoria's north central region own 4,000 acres of cropping and livestock country.DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA, 5 DECEMBER 2025A dairy couple and a family who became equal partners
I love this story because it shows how a door can open fast when it needs to. In 2019 a change in circumstances left a dairy couple with no farm and 180 cows due to calve within months.GRDC GROUNDCOVER, 23 APRIL 2025A Rutherglen couple talking early about how they'll step back
I love this story because a couple near Rutherglen have been on both sides of handing a farm on.FARMINGUK, 4 SEPTEMBER 2024A couple in their seventies stepped back without selling the farm
A couple who'd farmed the same upland block all their working lives got to their seventies with nobody in the family to take it on.SUSTAINABLE FOOD TRUST, 25 OCTOBER 2023More people want a share farm than there are farms on offer
I love this story because it says out loud what we see. In the UK, the average farmer is 60, and about 40 percent are over 65.ABC RURAL, 17 JULY 2023Neighbours who made room for the next farmer
I love this story because it shows the whole thing we work for, done by neighbours in north west Tasmania.LAND FOR GOOD, 15 NOVEMBER 2021A dairy couple who took seven years to hand on the farm
I love this story because a couple took their time and got it right. They'd run their organic dairy farm in New Hampshire since 1981, when they bought it from his parents.FARMERS WEEKLY, 17 AUGUST 2021A couple who got into dairying through a half and half share
I love this story because a man from a non farming background got his own herd without buying a farm.ABC NEWS, 20 JUNE 2021No one to take the farm on, so he gave it to his district
A grain grower east of Esperance broke away from the family operation at thirty and farmed on his own for twenty eight years.DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA, 12 JUNE 2020A Tasmanian couple who went from share farming to owning the herd
I love this story because it shows a share farm growing step by step. A couple in Tasmania left the building trade for dairying.For farming families
THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDE
Farm succession starts with one conversation
Why the hardest part of farm succession is getting the family talking, and how everyone in a farming family has a way in.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEWhat happens to a family farm with no succession plan?
Two futures for the same farming family: one where they talked and planned, and one where nobody spoke up in time.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEWho should start the succession conversation?
In every family where farm succession went well, one person started it. How to start it from love, and what to do if the first try goes badly.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEWhy do farming families put off succession planning?
The barriers that stop farming families planning succession, from fear of the conversation to a farm that can't be split evenly, and what helps.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEWho belongs in the farm succession conversation?
The sibling far away, the one who's done the work, the partner who married in, the spouse who's been waiting: everyone belongs at the table.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEHow do you start the succession conversation with your parents?
When your parents won't plan the farm's future, you can plan for them: how to build a kids' plan with love, and a letter to go with it.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEWhen the kids don't want the farm
How to tell your parents you don't want to farm, with love, and what a farming family can do when none of the kids want the farm.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEShow your family what the farm means to you
When the succession conversation won't start, show what the farm means instead: a photo book, a recording, a meal, a letter from a grandchild.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEFarm succession planning: start with what each person wants
Farm succession planning starts with what each person wants. Questions for the farmer, partner, kids and next farmer, and where the plan leads.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEBefore you plan succession, know where the farm stands
Map the farm's assets, debts, structure and people, then check the numbers stack up for the retiring farmer and the next generation.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDETax, insurance and the team behind your farm succession plan
The tax questions for an agricultural accountant, the insurance checks for a broker, and the rest of the professional team a farming family needs.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEWills, powers of attorney and protecting your succession plan
Your succession plan and your will have to agree. The legal questions to work through, and a plan for when things don't go to plan.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEWho lives in the farmhouse, and who makes the decisions?
Housing, the handover of the work, who decides what, and passing on decades of farm knowledge when one generation of a farming family steps back.THE CULTIVATE FARMS SUCCESSION GUIDEFarm succession options: which pathway fits your family?
The seven farm succession pathways, from a flexible lease and share farming to the Cultivate Trust, and when each one suits a farming family best.THE FARM THAT KEEPS GIVINGThe kids aren't coming back to the farm. Can you give some and keep a link?
A farming couple whose children have built lives elsewhere start with a sharefarmer, then give part of the farm to their district and keep a link for the family.Stories we love
FARMINGUK, 23 JULY 2024
Neither daughter wanted the farm, so they made room for someone who did
A couple whose family had farmed the same upland place for two hundred years had two daughters, and neither of them wanted it.THE WESTERN PRODUCER, 19 OCTOBER 2023One question at the kitchen table started the whole succession plan
A couple called their three daughters and their families to a meeting at the farm and wouldn't say what it was about.For aspiring farmers
YOU CAN OWN A FARM
How to own a farm when you didn't inherit one
You didn't inherit a farm and you don't have millions. What it takes to work toward one: inspiration, perseverance, planning and patience.YOU CAN OWN A FARMSeven doubts about owning a farm, and the answers
Not ready, too small a deposit, can't live off it, nervous about your job: the doubts that stop aspiring farmers, and why they shouldn't.YOU CAN OWN A FARMHow do I find a farm? Start with relationships
Getting onto a farm runs through people: help farmers out, talk about your vision, keep in touch, and work with rural real estate agents.YOU CAN OWN A FARMHow to find retiring farmers looking for someone like you
Where aspiring farmers meet retiring farmers, what to say on the first visit and the next, the letter, and why to aim for first right of purchase.YOU CAN OWN A FARMWhy you need a farm business plan before you find the farm
Why a written plan is how aspiring farmers get taken seriously, why to start before there's a farm, and the two documents you'll end up with.YOU CAN OWN A FARMWriting your farm plan: the summary, and why you're worth backing
How to write the summary of your Farm Ownership Plan, and how to show a retiring farmer or a backer you're the right person to back.YOU CAN OWN A FARMYour farm plan: the property, how you'll run it, and the risks
What your farm plan should say about the property, how you'll run it over the next ten years, and the risks you've planned for.YOU CAN OWN A FARMThe money side of your farm plan: finance, backing and governance
How to set out the costs, budget and backing in your farm plan: who puts in what, security, the exit, and how you'll run it well.YOU CAN OWN A FARMWho backs an aspiring farmer? Where to find your backers
Retiring farmers, banks, family and friends, local buyers and communities: who backs aspiring farmers onto a farm, and what backers want.YOU CAN OWN A FARMHow to get onto a farm before you can buy it outright
Buying into a farm over time, share farming, flexible leases and partnerships: how aspiring farmers get onto land before they can buy it.YOU CAN OWN A FARMLease to buy a farm, or vendor finance: two ways to own one
How lease to buy and vendor finance work for an aspiring farmer, with an example of each, and the benefits and drawbacks to weigh up.YOU CAN OWN A FARMHow to be the farmer a retiring farmer chooses
If you want to run a farm, what retiring farmers look for in the farmer they choose, and one option that changes who gets the farm.YOU CAN OWN A FARMHow do you get into farming in Australia?
You get into farming by working on farms, building relationships with the farmers around you and making a plan, then finding a way onto land that doesn't need you to buy it all at once.YOU CAN OWN A FARMCan you get into farming with no experience?
Yes, but not straight onto your own farm. You build the experience first, by working on farms and helping farmers out, and that experience is what makes a retiring farmer willing to back you.YOU CAN OWN A FARMCan you buy a farm with no money?
Not outright, but you can get onto a farm and earn your way into owning it, through buying in over time, lease to buy, vendor finance or share farming, with a retiring farmer or a backer alongside you.YOU CAN OWN A FARMHow do you find a farm to lease?
Most farms to lease are found through people, not listings: retiring farmers who want to stay on the land, rural agents with farms that have sat on their books, and the advisers who work with farming families.Stories we love
FARMINGUK, 16 JULY 2026
The plan is what got them their first farm
A couple in their late twenties and early thirties were both raised in farming families and always meant to stay in it.DAIRYNZ, 5 JUNE 2025A couple who bought their first farm in their thirties
I love this story because a couple took one step after another until they could buy a farm.LAND FOR GOOD, 26 APRIL 2023The retiring owners picked the farmers who'd care for the place
Two people who'd run a herb farm for twenty years were ready to hand it on and had nobody lined up.MEAT AND LIVESTOCK AUSTRALIA, 29 JUNE 2022A couple farming beef without owning a single hectare
I love this story because a couple on the NSW Central Coast built a beef business without buying land.ABC RURAL, 10 AUGUST 2021They asked out loud for a farm, and the district answered
A couple with a baby daughter had been sharefarming on the Great Ocean Road for fifteen months and built a herd of more than fifty cows.For locals and local leaders
COMMUNITY OWNED FARMS
Someone should do something about our farms. What if it's you?
When farms leave local hands, a town loses more than families. Why it doesn't have to be the default, and why the someone could be you.COMMUNITY OWNED FARMSWhat could a community owned farm look like in your district?
An illustration of how locals could start a community owned farm: a few neighbours, one farm, a share farming family and a structure accountants and solicitors know.COMMUNITY OWNED FARMSWhy are you doing this? Finding your why, and the values that hold it together
Before money or structures, find your why: on your own first, then together. And the ten values that hold a community owned farm together.COMMUNITY OWNED FARMSHow do you start a community owned farm? Three ways to get there
Build it yourself, go through a structured process, or bring your plan to Cultivate Farms: three ways to get a community owned farm going.COMMUNITY OWNED FARMSAre you ready to lead this in your district?
Wanting your district to keep its farms is one thing. Leading it is another. Do you want it, can you build the relationships, who's your team?COMMUNITY OWNED FARMSHow do you keep farms in local hands?
Someone local has to start looking: find the farmers who are winding down, connect them with the people who want to farm, and give a family a way to step back while the farm stays local.NO BETTER PLACEHave you got big ideas for your town?
For anyone in a regional town who can see potential nobody is acting on, and keeps a notebook of ideas they haven't shown anyone.NO BETTER PLACEHow to come up with ideas for your town
Before the committee or the pitch, dream. Ten questions to write about in a quiet hour, then three things to put on paper.NO BETTER PLACEWhat can a community own together?
A farm, a pub, a solar farm, a broadband network: what a regional community could buy and build together, and how each would start.NO BETTER PLACEWhat can one person start in a small town?
A nursery from a backyard, a farm trail, a local food brand, a training hub: ideas one person or a few could start in a regional town.NO BETTER PLACEWho changes a small town?
What carrying an idea for your town really involves, how to tell if it suits you, and what to do if you're not sure yet.NO BETTER PLACEHow do you pick the right idea for your town?
Six questions to test your ideas in your own head, how to choose the one, and why to hold it until you can show people something real.NO BETTER PLACEHow to get people behind your idea
Test your idea cheaply, then start with one person you trust. When to bring people in, how a crew forms, and what to do when people throw rocks.NO BETTER PLACEWhy there's never been a better time to start something in a regional town
Distance, cost and access to expertise held regional ideas back for generations. What has changed, and what it lets you do from your own town.NO BETTER PLACECan one person really change a town?
Why one committed person can shift a whole town, and what a town can look like three years after someone backs it.OPEN FOR FARMINGWhen big operators buy up the farms around your town, what can you do?
Look at the farms around you, and ask who farms them next. Say out loud that the district wants to stay farmed. The mayor starts it and everyone else carries it.Stories we love
FARMERS WEEKLY (UK), 28 APRIL 2026
A Shropshire farm held by its community for twenty years
I love this story because it shows a community owned farm still working twenty years on. In 2006 a brother and sister in their early twenties set out to stop the sale of their family's tenanted farm in Shropshire for industrial development.CORNELL SMALL FARMS PROGRAM, 10 MARCH 2025A dairy farmer turned his family's land into a farm the community holds
A fourth generation dairy farmer in upstate New York meant to farm his family's land for the rest of his life.The people who put their hand up
How a district could keep its farms in local hands. An illustration in 12 pieces, from a couple's first list to the district ten years on.
- PART 1 OF 12The list
- PART 2 OF 12The first door
- PART 3 OF 12The hall
- PART 4 OF 12The first heifers
- PART 5 OF 12The next farmer rings
- PART 6 OF 12A different kind of farm
- PART 7 OF 12The kitchen table
- PART 8 OF 12Securing her legacy
- PART 9 OF 12The flier at the hardware store
- PART 10 OF 12Another district calls
- PART 11 OF 12The meeting that started without them
- PART 12 OF 12Ten years on