Successors are looking for ways to gain equity or a stake in ownership, they provide labour and want a family life, and they need to be assured that they can service debt. Most of all they want their opinion to be heard and respected. They are not willing to put in the long hours that the previous generations did. They are also very good at using technology to their advantage and working collaboratively.

Twenty-three percent of millennials (ages 21 to 36) still require financial assistance from their parents. This rings true for successors who cannot afford to buy all of their boomer parent’s farm assets. These successors are looking for a collaborative solution of buyouts, gifting, and fair loans from the founders.