They say never go into business with family or friends, but this is exactly what happens naturally in the agricultural industry. So, the message remains, open honest discussion is better than blind faith.
While there has been significant discussion and debate on the state of housing nationwide, for many young people in rural Australia housing is just another component of the ‘trust’ game played between generations.
Common ownership is for the farm entity to own the house that the next generation lives in, and therefore trusting that your house is yours is something regularly faced.
Unlike their regional centre or urban counterparts, many of the young farming generation are not scouring the papers looking for their dream home and stressing about house prices, because the house is just an add-on to the main game, the farm. The separation between personal life and farm life gets exceptionally blurred.
Often it is some ‘entity’ or ‘trust’ within the farm business that owns the house and working out if you have any control over that entity or trust can be a tricky business.
This was the case for BCG Chairman Caroline Welsh, when she moved in with her husband John Renney on his family farm.
Ms Welsh said that when John and I married, his dad Tom was the director of the trust, and while anyone who knows Tom knows I am very fortunate in my father-in-law.
“It is easy to forget that for a person marrying a farmer, they take on a whole lot more than that one person,”
In a lot of instances, the structure of the family farming business is not spoken about, but Ms Welsh reinforces that “this can impact a lot on future happiness.”
Stories are not uncommon in rural communities where ownership of the home has caused stress.
“I remember a story told to me early in my married life by a local woman only a few years older than myself. When she first broached the idea of renovating her husband’s family home, she was told in no uncertain terms that if it was good enough for his mum for 30 years then it was good enough for her.” Ms Welsh said.
Whatever structure you choose for your family farm business keep the conversations happening, because when it all boils down to it, trust between family members is the key.
Farm business models and integration of family members into the farming business will be discussed at the BCG Future Farmers Expo on July 5 at the Birchip P-12 School. Presenters explaining how they have overcame the challenges of succession and family relationships.
This article was published in the Stock and Land 1 June.
