A3B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 8, 2003 PLANNING FOR THE THREE D’S Imagine that you are killed to morrow in an accident. What would happen to your farm oper ation? Your son announces that he is getting divorced. Are your assets at risk? What provisions have been made for your son’s wife and children? You or your son is involved in a farm accident, leaving the in jured person permanently disa bled. Do you have contingency plans for income protection and long- term health care? The three D’s or death, di vorce, and disability can create havoc on any farm operation and even force it out of existence. All of these “what-if ’ scenarios are not issues most of us want to think about, much less discuss. But without planning, you may leave your farm vulnerable to ir reversible damage. If the family ends up in a bitter dispute, the only winners will be the lawyers who pocket the pro ceeds. Your plans should address “unlikely” as well as more pre dictable misfortunes that could occur. Consider this scenario: Father and son developed a 50/50 partnership that is working well. A will was put in place that provides for the surviving spouse in case of the other’s death. Fa ther dies and mom gets all of his assets. Does son need to buy out mom and his siblings? Can he af ford to do so? With dad out of the picture, will the nonfarm sib lings demand their share of the farm and pressure mom to sell to the highest bidder? Mom is over whelmed and doesn’t know what to do. How can a fair solution be devised for all concerned? Or, you son’s wife decides she can’t stand farm life. The mar riage ends in bitterness and divorce, with the daughter-in-law laying YODER’S Windmill Service Specializing in new & used windmill sales & sen ice CALL FOR PRICING 717/532-4591 Send w ntten inquiries to 2006 Bedford Road Shippensburg, PA 17257 A Ok Tree STOVES Ml l»n—** • Heat with wood and avoid expensive fuels • Efficiently heat pour home, domestic hoi water, barn, or shop - all with one stove • Heavy Duty design • Wide range of sizes m/n. i i million hiuraimv) • Slide-out ash pan provides for convenient ash removal and prevents excessive corrosion • Enjoy the convenience and safely of an outdoor stove Oak Tree Stove Sales James Sensenig 632 Elysburg Road, Danville, PA 17821 Phqne: (570) 672-1096 Fax (570)672-3221 Mamifcn fmei and Dish ibutoi New Farmers, New Generation Marion Bowlan Pennsylvania Farm Link claim to the farm. To settle, part or even the entire farm may need to be sold, rendering it a nonvi able economic situation. Does your contingency plan cover what would happen to the land, shares in the business, and the management of the business in the event of divorce? What if Dad gets a divorce and remar ries? Remarriage, especially of the founder, can dramatically alter the dynamics of both the family and the business. Some families decide to use prenuptial agreements to safe guard the business in the event of a marital split. Good records will tell you going into the marriage which assets were owned and which ones were acquired since the marriage. Your agreement should spell out how the partner ship will be handled in the event of a divorce so that the business doesn’t have to be dissolved. Many people think of farm transfer planning as only plan ning for death. Either partner in the transfer could develop a disa bling disease or condition that no longer allows them to function physically or mentally. In addi tion to being debilitating, disabili ty can be extremely expensive and emotionally wearing. Do you have a power of attor ney for both your business and personal affairs? Does you family understand what full and limited power of attorney mean? Have you thought about living wills and conservatorship/ guardianship? All of these issues need to be considered if you would like the business to outlive you. To leam more about transfer planning, attend Pennsylvania Farm Link’s upcoming Passing on the Farm Workshop at the York County extension office. For more information, contact us at (717) 664-7077. HEATMOR OUTDOOR WOOD FURNACES Wood-Oil & Corn-Burning Options Outback Heating Inc. 888-763-8617 800-743-5883 Stainless Steel Jamestown, NY Staunton,VA 5 Size s 19 Colon - Wood ot Coal (hates Fatted Draft - Ash Auger Clean Out COMPARISON WITH OTHER OUTDOOR UNITS • Burns up to 1/2 less wood • Emits up to 1/2 less smoke • Corrosion Warranty up to 10 times longer '' ' -A*, *I -y s, I H. James Siegrist Stonebridge Sales Schuylkill Welding PiUsguve NJ New t leek, WV Tamaqua, PA (856)692 2227 (104) 719-818,i (570)386 1177 Ed Jones Joe Hurst Brighams Mechanicsbuig, PA Plymouth, OH Lacewille PA (717).76b 0426 1419)687 5801 (570)869-3029 ‘Maximizing Opportunities’ Conference Set GRANTVILLE (Dauphin Co.) The Professional Dairy Man agers of Pennsylvania (PDMP) invite dairy businessmen and businesswomen to attend the PDMP Annual Meeting and Con ference Maximizing Opportu nities March 25-26 at the Holi day Inn, Grantville. PDMP joins Penn State Dairy Alliance and Department of Dairy and Animal Science to offer this unique opportunity for dairy producers to participate in a conference planned by some of the most progressive dairy pro ducers in the area. Sessions on dairy development, maximizing investments, and nutrient man agement will all feature tips from successful dairy producers. Tom Thompson, owner of Stotz Dairies in Buckeye, Ariz., presents three times during the conference. Thompson’s herd has grown from 539 cows in 1981 to the current size of 3,676 cows, which produce 28,900 pounds of 3.5 percent fat-corrected milk. He will share his business experi ences in the Stotz dairy business, a systematized approach to dairy management. His presentation includes a visual tour. Members of PDMP visited Stotz Dairy in February 2002, discovering that Thompson has a great team of empowered em ployees that contribute to the Farm Bill Payment Sign-Up LEBANON (Lebanon Co.) Frank Reist, chairperson of the Lebanon County Farm Service Agency Committee, reminds farmers that the April 1 -base se lection deadline is almost upon us. Growers have until April 1 to make a base selection and pro vide the owner’s agreement to participate in the Direct and Counter Cyclical Payment Pro gram (DCP). Missing this critical date could cause you to lose valuable program ben- efits. Sign-up activities re quire that many growers visit the office more than once, Reist suggests that growers contact the office for an appointment prior to their visit. Office staff can then prepare for the visit to greatly speed the process. The different options af- dairies’ success. His second talk focuses on employee manage ment: starting with a vision. Thompson will also demonstrate his data monitoring system. A key concept of this system is that when performance is measured, performance improves; but when performance is measured and re ported back, the rate of improve ment accelerates. Tom Shephard, Agri-Edge, Inc, will address the opportuni ties for working together to grow and strengthen the Pennsylvania dairy industry. As dairies invest in technologies and expansions, are the processing plants com mitted to doing the same? How can Pennsylvania producers de velop partnerships? Jim Vincent, L-Brooke Farms, Inc., Byron, N.Y., owns several agricultural businesses, including a dairy and a vegetable farm and is an enterprising marketer. Learn how he creates businesses and develops partnerships. Brad Hilty, Penn State Dairy Alliance, will discuss the impor tance of setting up information systems to provide producers with the information they need to evaluate the different segments of their businesses to operate more profitably. Alyssa Dodd, Penn State De partment of Agricultural Eco nomics and Rural Sociology, spe- forded by the program cause en rollment to take longer then pre vious enrollment experiences. The required involvement of farm owners is a new twist, which can also take additional time. If a farm operator wishes to separate multi-ownership tracts into separate farms, another visit is required before the farms can be enrolled. Take care of your risk protection package now. Paul B. \ _ , j a w Jta 11 _ Automatic Headgate Finished with a zinc rich undercoat & TGIC polyester topcoat Call or Write for Additional Information & the Name of Your Nearest Dealer Paul B. Zimmerman, Inc. 295 Woodcorner Rd. • Lititz, PA 17543 • 1 mile West of Ephrata 717/738-7365 Hours. Mon. thru Fn.: 7-5; Sat. 7-11 cializes in agricultural environmental policy. She’ll talk about the latest information on changing federal and state nutri ent management rules. Is it possible to make money with manure? Peter Wright, PRO-DAIRY, Cornell Universi ty, is a professional engineer and manure treatment specialist. He’ll discuss progressive technol ogies for manure management and show producers how to implement a variety of practical systems that actually turn nutri ent management into a profitable enterprise. Pete Knigge, Knigge Farms, LLC, Omro, WI purchased robot ic milkers two years ago. Find out why he made the decision, how it has changed his lifestyle and management practices, as well as his recommendations for ensuring profitability. And finally, one of PA’s own success stories will be shared by Kevin Holtzinger, Ke-Holtz Dairy, East Berlin. Holtzinger knows that profitability doesn’t come easy. He’ll share his story of climbing out of debt and learn ing to focus on basic business practices. This promises to be a powerful program that incorporates lead ing edge, unbiased information about new practices and technol ogies, a heads up on environ mental issues, and social time with others that are positive about dairying as a business. Make plans now to join this unique opportunity for dairy pro ducers and to learn and network together. For a complete agenda, listing of sponsors and PDMP member ship details, visit our Website HYPERLINK “http:// www.pdmp.psu.edu” HYPER LINK “http://www.das.psu.edu/ pdmp/” http://www.das.psu.edu/ pdmp/ or call (888) 373-7232. advantages: Durable 2 coat finish that stands up to daily use. Full roof cover for outdoor protection. Heavy duty latch for positive locking. Double linkage for extra stability. Fast, easy adjustments to match animal size & neck size from 5” to 7” Handle for manual operation for slow or horned cattle. ilue With Our 2 Coat Process! >e step metal preparation, including iron jhate conversion coating, to enhance adhesion 'vent undercoat corrosion !inc rich epoxy powder undercoat 3 TGIC polyester powder top coat, baked at 400° to fuse coats, forming a cross link molecular bond
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