Succession and farm transitions are a challenging topic that takes a lot of preparation. “There’s two [transitions] that are most important,” noted Tim Cobb, owner and President of Spokane-based Farmland Company. “That’s an operational management transition as well as an ownership transition, and those items don’t normally happen at the same time. When you talk about day-to-day operations as young people are coming into an organization, they should get an opportunity to manage and do a few things that will allow them to make some choices. Maybe control some budgets, or potentially also sell some grain, and do things like that. On the other side, there’s that ownership transition that might come later, but it also might include other stakeholders. And so when you’re talking about succession, there are lots and lots of things to consider, and ownership transition normally takes a little bit more time.”