Farming the Future
Second in a Series
Successful farm succession for the Metzger family in Kimmel began years before the official establishment of Metzger Dairy in 1970.
John Metzger's grandfather, of the same name, began the farm around the year 1950 with cows, pigs, chickens and lambs. Jack Metzger bought the farm and began a dairy focus, establishing the dairy operation. John and his brother, Dutch, were raised on the farm and began making decisions for the farm in their early 20s.
Now, after three successful transitions, they are ready for a fourth. Ashton Bauman, John's daughter, is in the midst of acquiring the full scope of farm responsibilities.
Currently, Bauman is in charge of the books, company inventory, tracking the cows' health, and managing human resources. She recently began walking the barns throughout the week to inspect equipment and ensure everything is operating at optimal capacity.
The secret to a successful farm transition is communication, she said. John and Dutch agreed. Farmers should have a clear statement of their expectations for each role their successor will need to fill.
As an example, Bauman described the process she is going through in succession: She is learning the business side of the farm and expanding to care of the animals, equipment and operating equipment among other things. As she gets a handle of each, another is added until she can manage the full scope of the family dairy.
"We won't know it's successful until about 30 years after (the farm is passed on)," John said with a chuckle.
Every succession story, he says, has its challenges.
During their own succession, "there were often times when he (Jack) thought we were off our rocker," John said.
Dutch agreed. As with any business, running a dairy requires risk, they explained.
Currently, John, Dutch and Ashton are navigating the challenges of transitioning the farm. A succession of this sort has never happened before because the dairy has always been passed to two successors, Ashton explained. This, along with some other factors, such as living off-farm with her own family and a farm management learning curve, are slowing down the transition process.
Bauman began working full-time for Metzger Dairy in 2014, with plans to run the farm with her sister, Carmen Kreager. However, Carmen's plans changed when her family moved away from Indiana, and the dairy operation was left solely to Ashton.
This leads to the Metzger's second piece of advice for successful succession: hire an outside firm. John said this helped the family figure out who was staying on the farm and who was not. After a full understanding of the expectations was established, it has also helped keep things fair.
To help Ashton manage the dairy, Ethan Gaff, who works on the farm, was given a larger role. He currently manages the cattle and mechanical operations of the farm.
"He's buying 100 head of cows to help him get his feet wet in management," John said.
John and Dutch are also introducing Ashton and Gaff into the finances and herd management decisions.
Another key aspect is when the farm succession planning begins.
"Start early. We're still at the age where we can still do stuff if we need to," John said.
Ashton says kids should also start work on the farm early.
"My dad didn't require me and my sister to be involved in the farm, but now I wish we had been," Ashton said.
However, she was also heavily involved in sports in her youth, so she is glad he had that policy. Still, she wishes she had spent more time on the farm growing up because she thinks it would have helped her in gaining a full understanding of the scope of farm management.
Finally, "Kids shouldn't start on their parents' farm. They should learn from someone else too," Dutch said.
While children can learn the ropes of caring for livestock on their family farm, gaining outside experience is crucial to growing their understanding the scope of farm operations, he explained. It also helps instill a new respect for the profession.
Through these four tips, the Metzgers have grown their operation to include 2,060 cows and three different dairy locations. Ashton hopes to move closer to the farm in the future as she gains more responsibilities.