STORIES WE LOVE
A Rutherglen couple talking early about how they'll step back
By Sam Marwood
Story from GRDC GroundCover, 23 April 2025
Every now and then I find a story that shows exactly what we're about at Cultivate Farms: real people finding a way to keep a farm working and bring someone new onto it. I share them here because seeing it done by others makes it real. Here's one I love.
From GRDC GroundCover, 23 April 2025: "Talk early and often", by Melissa Marino. Read the full story at groundcover.grdc.com.au.
Why I love it
I love this story because a couple near Rutherglen have been on both sides of handing a farm on. About eight years ago they helped take over the wife's family farm. Back in the late 1990s her parents had paid their daughters and the daughters' husbands like any other workers, and offered vendor finance so they could buy in early. He says a debt to service gave them the push to build the business.
Her parents never had a clear plan for leaving, and retired in their early seventies with some health troubles. He says that's a lesson they don't want to repeat. So although they're only in their mid fifties, and a decade from easing back, they're already talking with their own children. Their first planning effort, run by a retired barrister, was a disaster in his words. A good facilitator changed that, and her parents ended up happy.
Why it matters for towns like ours
Plenty of farming families put this conversation off until health makes the decision for them. This couple show it can start early, while everyone's well. The people stepping back say what they need first, treating it as a business transition, and the farm keeps working for the next generation.
One step you could take
If you're thinking about stepping back, write down what you'd need for living costs, health and the years ahead. Then raise it with your family while you're well. Read how vendor finance works when you sell your farm in our Ageing on Farm guide.
I share these stories because each one shows it can be done, by ordinary farming families, in places like yours. If you know a story like this, or you're living one, I'd love to hear it.