Prepare, Plan and Protect: The UNITE Approach to Generational Renewal

James McDonnell

Who will be steering your farm in 10–20 years? If that question makes you hesitate, you’re not alone; but it’s also a reason to act. Generational renewal is about more than handing over the keys: it’s about growing the next generation so they can run the business you’ve built.

It starts young, encouraging a positive image of farming, involving children in farm life and decisions, supporting agricultural education, and then moving gradually into management, mentorship and real responsibility. Done well, it keeps the farm viable and the family strong. Done late, it can become a crisis.

Use the word UNITE as an acronym to be your practical guide — five quick steps you and your Teagasc advisor can use to turn a big, difficult conversation into small, effective action.

U = Unity: Plan together, not apart

Bring the family together for short highly focussed conversations. Framing the meeting as long‑term business strategy makes it easier for parents and successors to engage. Agree the purpose up front. This is about protecting the business and supporting the family, not dividing assets. A single short, neutral meeting with an advisor can break the ice and put everyone on the same page.

N = Nurture: Start early, little and often

Successful handovers rarely happen overnight. Start with small, visible responsibilities for successors. For example: order diesel for the farm, manage one supplier, look after a batch of calves. These small tasks build confidence and judgement. Give regular feedback and encouragement to your children so progress becomes routine rather than becoming crisis conversation.

I = Identity and inclusion: Acknowledge the human side

The farm is often bound up with identity and status in the community. Acknowledge that stepping back can feel like a loss and reframe it as a role change or a new routine. Include all family members to the meeting and, where needed, suggest including a neutral facilitator. Perhaps your local advisor or trusted professional, as a meeting coach rather than “mediator.” Inclusion matters: everyone who will be affected should have a chance to be heard.

T = Tasks and trade‑offs: Be practical about fairness and finance

“Equal” isn’t always equitable for a working farm. Use simple, conservative numbers to show what ownership options mean for borrowing, reinvestment and viability. Dividing a business can be the quickest way to make a business unworkable. For example: Start a discussion on a one‑page cash scenario and be explicit about trade‑offs: someone may take more responsibility; someone else may receive compensation. Someone might gain financially while another gets stability or control. Finish each meeting by agreeing one concrete, time‑bound task and recording who owns it.

Remember: Fair does not mean that everyone gets the same thing; fair means that everyone understands why the decision was made.

E = Execute: Make the plan live

A plan that sits in a drawer is useless. Finish every meeting with at least one concrete, time‑bound action and a date to review it. Record tasks, owners and deadlines in the farm diary. The habit of returning to the plan matters more than getting everything perfect the first time. Regular review keeps the conversation practical and reduces the emotional weight. Small steps taken consistently, build competence more effectively that one dramatic handover.

The aim is not perfection, it is awareness, all the family need to be included in the conversation. The language could be difficult, uncomfortable, emotional, but you don’t need to overhaul anything in one sitting. Ask your Teagasc advisor for a meeting to do a farm review and bring a family member. Agree to look at the farm’s next five years and agree one practical thing to try? No paperwork – just a business conversation.

When families act together, small steps add up. Use the acronym UNITE as your guide. Start with one short meeting and one small task and come back often. Ní neart go cur le chéile — there is no strength without unity.

The above first appeared in Securing the Future of Irish Farms: Approaches for Generation Renewal (PDF), produced as part of Teagasc Generational Renewal Week 2026.