FOR RETIRING FARMERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

What is ageing on farm?

"I don't want to leave. I just don't know how to stay."

If that's you, you're not on your own.

Who it's for

It's for you if you love your farm, your community and your way of life, and the thought of moving to a house in town makes you feel sick.

It's for you if your body is slowing down but your mind is still sharp, and you want to step back from the physical work without stepping off the land entirely.

And it's for you if you're open to options you haven't considered. Ways to stay on your farm, keep an income, look after your health, and make sure the land you've worked your whole life stays productive and in good hands.

A simple idea

Ageing on farm is a simple idea: you stay on your farm as you get older, with the support you need to do it well.

It means making a deliberate plan to hand the heavy work to someone else, while you stay connected to the land, the community and the life you've built.

What it can look like

For some farmers, it means staying in the farmhouse while a farming family from the next generation takes over the operations.

For others, it means a smaller role on the property. Maybe running a few head of stock, or managing the books, while someone else does the physical work.

For others still, it means stepping right back from farming but staying on the land, in your home, watching the seasons change from the verandah.

Your farm, your terms

The common thread is choice. You decide the timing, well before a health scare decides it for you. You decide, on your own terms, what the next chapter looks like.

At Cultivate Farms, we've worked with hundreds of retiring farmers across Australia. The ones who are happiest aren't the ones who sold up and moved to the coast. They're the ones who found a way to stay connected to their farm, their community and their purpose.

The average age of Australian farmers is now in the late fifties. A huge amount of Australian farmland will change hands in the next decade, and most of those transitions will happen without a plan.

Where the idea came from

Ageing on farm grew out of our work with retiring farmers and aspiring farmers. The older farmers we met could see that selling up was one option, and they sensed there had to be others. They just couldn't find anyone who'd laid them out clearly.

There are real answers, and the guide covers seven of them.

How do I stay on my farm?

Start with a plan of your own. Grab a pen, a cup of tea, and give yourself time. The questions are a conversation with yourself about what you want.

A few to begin with:

• What does your ideal life look like in five years? Where are you living, what are you doing each day, who are you spending time with?
• What is your vision for the farm in five years? In ten years?
• How much ongoing involvement do you want in farming decisions?
• How much involvement do you want in the day-to-day physical work?
• What's your ideal timeline for the transition? One year? Three years? Gradual over a decade?
• How is your physical health, really? Your partner's health?
• If you could design the perfect outcome for your farm and your retirement, what would it look like?

Some will be easy to answer. Others will need a conversation with your partner, your kids, your accountant or your lawyer first. That's fine. They're there to bring up the things that matter, at your own pace.

The full guide, Ageing on Farm, is free at cultivatefarms.com/resources.

You can build your own plan at cultivatefarms.com/plan.