The Successor Sitting at the Kitchen Table

Klara McGriskin

Succession is one of the most important decisions any farming family will make. It determines who will own the land, lead the business and make the decisions that will shape the future of the farm. As Ireland focuses on generational renewal, much of the discussion centres on encouraging young people into farming and identifying the next generation of farm leaders. However, one important question deserves greater attention: are we overlooking capable successors because of traditions that no longer reflect modern Irish agriculture?

For generations, farm succession often followed an unwritten rule. If there was a son interested in farming, he was usually viewed as the natural successor. This was shaped by a desire to keep the family name on the land and continue a tradition that had often passed from father to son. While understandable in its time, Irish agriculture has changed significantly. Modern farmers must be business managers, financial planners, environmental stewards and strategic decision-makers. The future of a farm depends on ability, commitment and leadership, not gender.

Women have always played a central role in Irish farming, yet their contribution has often gone unrecognised. According to the Central Statistics Office’s Farm Structure Survey 2023, women account for 34.1% of those working on Irish farms yet represent just 13.2% of farm holders. That statistic alone should make us pause. If women make up more than one-third of the agricultural workforce, why do they account for only one in eight farm holders?

The answer is unlikely to be capability. Across Ireland, women are involved in livestock management, financial administration, compliance, diversification and business planning. Many have agricultural qualifications, professional experience and valuable skills that contribute directly to farm success. The more likely explanation is that cultural attitudes and traditions have not evolved as quickly as the sector itself.

This matters because Irish agriculture faces a succession challenge. The average farm holder is now almost 60 years old, while more than half of Irish farms have no identified successor. At a time when finding successors is becoming increasingly difficult, it makes little sense to narrow the search through assumptions that belong to a different era. This is not simply an issue of equality; it is an issue of farm sustainability.

For many years, sons were often encouraged to see themselves as future farm owners. They were more likely to be involved in management decisions, machinery purchases and long-term planning from an early age. Daughters frequently worked just as hard but were less likely to be viewed as future owners. As a result, some women may never have considered succession a realistic option, even when they possessed the interest, ambition and ability to succeed.

This raises an uncomfortable question. Was the son always the best successor, or was he simply the person who had been encouraged to see himself as a successor from the beginning?

Many farming families would never consciously exclude a daughter from succession discussions. Yet assumptions can be powerful. If a daughter is never asked whether she wants to farm, never included in conversations about the future of the business and never encouraged to see herself as a potential successor, then the decision may effectively have been made long before any formal succession discussion takes place.

The language we use can reinforce these assumptions. Men are often described as farmers, managers or successors. Women are often described as “helping out” or supporting the farm. Yet the responsibilities carried out by both may be the same. When women are consistently viewed as supporters rather than leaders, it becomes harder for them to be recognised as future farm owners and decision-makers.

Women have always worked on Irish farms. The challenge today is not participation in farming but progression within farming. Many contribute significantly to farm businesses while having little formal recognition through ownership, partnerships or succession plans. They may manage finances, oversee compliance requirements and contribute to strategic decisions, yet remain largely invisible when discussions about ownership or succession begin.

Historically, keeping the family name attached to the land was seen as an important part of preserving a farming legacy. Today, that legacy is increasingly defined by achievement rather than surname. Modern farming communities respect people for how they manage their businesses, embrace innovation, care for the environment and contribute to rural life. Success is measured by leadership and performance, not by whether a successor is male or female.

The question for farming families should no longer be, “Which son will take over the farm?” Instead, it should be, “Who is best placed to lead this farm into the future?”

At the same time, women themselves have a role to play. Farming families must be willing to consider daughters as potential successors and challenge assumptions that may have existed for generations. Equally, women must be willing to express their ambitions and put themselves forward. Succession opportunities often begin with a conversation, and the future successor is not always the person who speaks the loudest. Sometimes they are the people who have never been asked.

Many women have spent generations working in the background of Irish agriculture. The future of the sector requires more women to step out of the shadows and be recognised not simply as helpers, but as farmers, business leaders and potential successors.

There has never been a better time for that change to happen. Women are increasingly participating in agricultural education, leadership programmes, discussion groups and farm business development initiatives. The skills, knowledge and ambition are there. The challenge is ensuring that succession conversations keep pace with these changes.

For generations, women have made a significant contribution to Irish farming. Yet despite accounting for more than one-third of those working on farms, they remain a small minority of farm holders. At a time when many Irish farms have no identified successor, overlooking capable daughters is not simply a missed opportunity for women; it is a missed opportunity for the future viability of Irish farming.

The next generation of Irish farmers is already here. Some are sons. Some are daughters. The future success of Irish agriculture will depend on our ability to recognise both.

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.