Got a Question? Ask A COWBOY POET!
August 2024
This month, the cowboy poets mull over a dilemma “as old as human fingernails” as they answer this question:
“Transition Planning” is a critical and bittersweet period for generational ranches. Can you describe any pitfalls to avoid, or arrangements that were particularly successful?
~ In Transition
waddie mitchell:
One must first remember who is answering your questions. We are not experts on most subjects, so our answers are our opinions. It is my opinion that transition is simply part of life. We transition from young to old. We transition from not able, to able, back to not able. We have learned over the centuries to plan for certain transitions. Succession of power, transfer of estate, handing over responsibility. We take on and we relinquish.
Transition of a family asset and/or business can be particularly hard because of family dynamics. Many businesses are multigenerational and must go through the transition of "one time of life" to another, from parent to progeny. In these times, it can be a legal headache. Taxes can rob families of inheritance and so much more. All these problems can and should be dealt with through attorneys.
I read the question as more of a family dynamic, so here is my opinion—in the ranching industry, there is a large number of family operations that must figure the passing of the mantle. This ceremony is as old as human fingernails. If one reads history, it seems the way that works best for the human is when the senior members dictate and announce the when of things. Some will do it sooner than others, move to the beach and play pickleball. Others will stay and divvy out responsibility over time until they are ready to step back. Any way it happens can be trying if allowed to be. The one thing that is required for a successful amiable transition is respect. The hardest way, by far, is if sickness, injury, or mental capacity is the dictating reason for the change. Transition is not a unique problem. There are answers, examples, and experts to explore and help answer your questions.
dw groethe:
As far as passing down the ranch goes, I don't have any real thoughts, as I've always been the ranch hand and not on the list of future owners. The few outfits I've been around over the years have always seemed to have a fairly smooth transition from one generation to the next, and some of these families are five or six generations into it. I'm sure there's been behind-the-scenes situations that have been a bit on the argumentative side...I mean, we're talking families here...but the ones I worked closest with always managed to pass it on.
I'll be interested to read the answers the rest of my poetin' pals have. Hope they're more exciting than mine.
Ta daa...and thanks for asking.
Dw
bill lowman:
Wow! That’s a deep and serious subject. JoAnn and I are extremely fortunate. My siblings were rewarded cash and items while I took over the ranch from our parents, due to the fact they had already left the nest for their own careers while I partnered with my parents for many years. The last statement in my father’s will said, “All of you get along.”
Too many times I’ve seen ranches divided up amongst siblings and all it does is create hard feelings and destroy a working ranch. Talk to common-sense estate planners and your banker of agricultural knowledge. My dad was very levelheaded and talked to us as grown-ups, even when we were little tykes. He gave us a good example and advice, but let us make our own mistakes. JoAnn and I are getting close to the next generational transition, as our son Lusk and family ranch with us and live across the yard. It’s human nature to expect the next generation to do it the very same way you have, which is a total pitfall. Back off, calmly talk situations over—they’ll do it differently than you, but at the day’s end it works out the same. Decker, Montana cowboy poet Jim Hamilton wrote a classic poem on that subject of “passing it down,” but I don’t have its title in front of me.
dick gibford:
I have never owned a ranch so can’t say from experience. My father owned a good little cow outfit, but there was no transition involved. It was simply sold and the proceeds were divided. To keep a great cattle ranch going on to the next generation is ideal, if that's what all parties involved want. It is always a heartwarming thing to witness if “the kids” want to keep punching cows on horseback, and every now and then that happens. It’s great to see the old cowboy traditions being carried on. It's a great way of life and sad when it changes. Hopefully, wisdom will prevail and there will be a person or persons left in charge with a complete knowledge of the ranch and its workings to guide the next in line.
Additional perspectives about transition on generational ranches:
Last Lifetime Owner: A Deep West Video by Leslie David Schwabacher
Turning to Face the Wind: A Deep West Video by Jane Ambrose Morgan
