Anything we can do that allows a farm to transition from one generation to the next and stay within the family is beneficial to our industry. As our farm families shrink, as indeed families in general shrink in this country, we need to expand the definition of family to include other relatives other than direct descendants. We also need to make sure that the access to capital is there.
Unfortunately in our industry sometimes, farms transition outside the family simply because the second generation does not have the ability to raise the capital to purchase the operations. The only asset the outgoing generation has is the equity value of that farm, so they can't afford to pass it on without realizing on that equity.
Anything we can do in this context to increase the definition and the breadth of family members who can be transitioned to and programs they can use to help access capital would be hugely beneficial.