Mount Vernon, Washington, June 16, 2008 - Washington Agricultural Institute, in partnership with Skagit County Conservation District, WSU Extension and the Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program, is hosting a pair of instructional workshops on family farm succession and transition planning. This is being partially funded by a grant from the Washington Conservation Commission's Office of Farmland Preservation.

"Research indicates that half of America's farmers have no estate plan and almost three quarters have not even named a successor," said Mary Heinricht, executive director of Washington Ag Institute. Heinricht also indicated that a study completed in Virginia about 7 years ago, found that 70% of the time a farm is sold for development at the death of the landowner, it is because the family had failed to plan for the farm transition.

Two of the nation's top experts in family farm transitions will be presenting a pair of workshops at the WSU Northwest Research Station in Mount Vernon in July.

Steve Richards, currently a business consultant with Farm Credit of Western New York, is the former Program Director for NY FarmNet/FarmLink - the nation's leading farm transition program. During his five year tenure, Richards published 17 workbooks used for transition education in 18 states, and personally assisted in more than 800 farm business transitions.

Jeff Fetter is chair of the business practice group of Scolaro, Shulman, Cohen, Fetter & Burnstein in Syracuse, New York, where his practice focuses on business, estate, tax and succession planning for closely held and family-owned enterprises. Jeff is a frequent lecturer for the New York State Bar Association and has authored a number of articles on this issue for various periodicals.

One full-day session will focus on training agricultural professionals about farm transitions and family issues. Attorneys, accountants, investment advisors, WSU Extension staff, Conservation District staff and other agricultural professionals will be interested in this informative day.

Another full-day session will be for families beginning to plan for transition. Senior and junior generation farmers and spouses should attend to learn about the options available to them in planning for the eventual transition of their business to the next generation.

For more information about the July 7^th ag professionals workshop or the July 11^th family farm workshop at the WSU Northwest Research Station, contact Mary Heinricht at 360-572-4356 or washingtonaginstitute@earthlink.net .

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 Mary Heinricht
Washington Agricultural Institute
426 Lochwood Drive
Camano Island, WA 98282
360.572.4356

"The history of every nation is eventually written by the way in which it cares for its soil." FDR

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