“I hope that it could be a little easier for someone else down the road. We didn't really have a map to follow. Hopefully this is an opportunity, whether you're a beginning farmer or one that is planning for succession, to know that there are lots of options.” -Mark Green, Wild Hare Farm

Stories from the Field Video Series

Stories from the Field is a seven-part video series for farmers and ranchers who are curious about planning for succession and protecting their working land for future generations. The videos share real-life stories and perspectives from farmers and ranchers as well as insights from service providers including an accountant, an attorney, an appraiser, a land trust, a 1031 facilitator, and a lender. 

Click the plus sign next to the title of each video to read a summary about it.

There are two versions of each video: both with and without audio description. All videos contain closed captions.

This video series and a forthcoming service providers' guide were made possible with generous funding from AgWest Farm Credit, Harbourton Foundation, Land Trust Alliance, and The Roundhouse Foundation.

  • A Wallowa County rancher and her daughter share the story of their ranch’s succession plan crafted over the course of the daughter’s lifetime. And a Willamette Valley farmer, his son, and the operations manager discuss working hard to become an effective team and how the farm business will continue with a broader definition of family.

This isn't quitting. This is success. This is good. Now I can do something different. And that's awesome. I don't think that we're often able to think about that. We're just hanging on so tight, and we think that's who we are.

Liza Jane McAllister, 6 Ranch

Click the play button above to watch Succession Stories with closed captions (run time 23:51)

Watch Succession Stories with audio description here (run time 24:21)

  • A hay farmer in Wallowa County shares his decision to put an easement on his land and how it has benefitted his business. An appraiser and land trust director share their perspectives on the easement process.

I probably wouldn't have done it for just the money, and I probably wouldn't have done it for just the ecological benefit. They both had to come together to create enough value for me to absolutely say yes, that it was worth it.

Woody Wolfe, Woody Wolfe Ranch

Click the play button above to watch General Easements with closed captions (run time 16:21)

Watch General Easements with audio description here (run time 17:04)

  • A multigenerational U-pick vegetable farm stands on the edge of development near Seattle, Washington. The elder farmer explains how an easement will protect the land for ag use as well as help him and his brothers plan for retirement while his daughter develops her own farm business on the land. Their land trust partner and an attorney share what to consider when working on a retirement plan involving a multigenerational farm.

We didn’t have to sell the farm to somebody else or sell it for development because we got a little nest egg to help us in retirement.

Don Bailey, Bailey Farm

Click the play button above to watch Retirement with closed captions (run time 13:43)

Watch Retirement with audio description here (run time 13:53)

  • Two first-generation farmers running a successful CSA discuss how conveying an easement at the same time that they purchased their employers’ farm made the land more affordable. Their lender and land trust partner discuss the transaction process.

We were not born into a farming family with land. We did not have a financially lucrative career prior to this. What we had was a place and a group of people who really cared about the future of this farm, enough about who we were and what we stood for, to see it through. And that's a real gift.

Katie Green, Wild Hare Farm

Click the play button above to watch Land Access with closed captions (run time 15:17)

Watch Land Access with audio description here (run time 15:27)

  • A Yamhill County farmer who raises cattle and timber shares his non-familial succession plan and the process of donating an easement to a soil and water conservation district. His successor shares his thoughts about the future of the farm, and a CPA and an appraiser weigh in with some key points.

It’s hard to find places like this that exist anymore that haven’t been sold to corporations, split up when a marriage breaks up or a family member dies and the kids sell off all the property. So that's one great thing to have it in an easement. No matter what happens, it's always going to stay looking the way it is.

Alex Bergstrom, Crown Hill Farm

Click the play button above to watch Donating an Easement with closed captions (run time 10:51)

Watch Donating an Easement with audio description here (run time 10:58)

  • A farm and ranch owner in Central Oregon discusses the challenge of affording agricultural land and how funds from a working land easement will help her and her husband pay down their mortgage. A lender and land trust representative share best practices about using easements to pay off a mortgage.

A huge part of the mission that my husband and I are on is to stitch the land back together that's been broken up just in my own lifetime and make it a place that both produces food for people and also habitat and therefore food for all the living things here.

Sarahlee Lawrence, Pitchfork T Ranch

Click the play button above to watch Paying off a Mortgage with closed captions (run time 9:38)

Watch Paying off a Mortgage with audio description here (run time 10:00)

  • A rancher in Post, Oregon tells the story of an attempted 1031 exchange in conjunction with a working land easement and how he's planning for success in round 2. A 1031 facilitator and the rancher’s land trust partner discuss the challenges and benefits of 1031 exchanges.

As far as succession of these farms and ranches, it is just not going to happen at today's prices, and the prices are not going to go down. So by doing this, we may make it so the next generation can get involved. And it can be a win-win.

Jim Wood, Aspen Valley Ranch

Click the play button above to watch 1031 Exchange with closed captions (run time 13:04)

Watch 1031 Exchange with audio description here (run time 13:23)

The Stories from the Field video series is part of the Plan & Protect Toolkit for Ag Landowners and Service Providers. The toolkit is a set of resources developed to increase understanding of farm and ranch business succession planning and the use of working land easements as a tool for this purpose. The Plan & Protect toolkit contains the Straightshooter’s Guide to Easements, the Stories from the Field video series, and Plan & Protect: Ag Service Providers’ Guide to Easements.

Big thanks to all participants including Washington Farmland Trust, Deschutes Land Trust, and Wallowa Land Trust for sharing about their projects with us!

Video production by Underscore Video. Captioning and audio description by Cheryl Green. Additional narration by Oliver Baker.