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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 M AY 4 , 2 0 2 6 B U S I N E S S S U C C E S S I O N / T R A N S I T I O N How to set goals Successful transitions often require careful navigation of multiple goals and often warrant in-depth financial planning and close consideration of many factors, says Maine Farmland Trust. Transferring the business while it's still fully operational is ideal so that farmers have the resources to retire or transition to another opportunity, and the land stays in farming. Transitioning a farm business, land and/or other farm assets from one farm operator to the next can include transferring ownership, skills, knowledge and management roles. It can be complex and take many years. Historically, farms were handed down to children. Today, successors are often not family members. e process and financing options can be complicated. For incoming farmers, suitable farmland is harder to find, and afford, as farmland is lost to development and price and competition for available land increases, says Sabina. "Farmland access is the number one challenge we hear from beginning farmers as they face higher farm prop- erty values and increasing business costs," Sabina says. "Succession planning can involve matching new farmers to farms in transition, and while it's not neces- sarily going to be more affordable for the incoming farmer, ideally they're walking into a property with exist- ing infrastructure, which can decrease their start-up costs." In Maine, the average farmland mar- ket value of land and buildings per acre spiked by 44% between 2017 and 2022, while the average production costs per farm rose by 24%, according to the 2022 U.S. Census of Agriculture. "At the same time, we're seeing a wave of Maine farmers nearing retire- ment," Sabina continues. "at means that there's a lot of farmland that will be in transition, and farms are most vulnerable to falling out of agriculture when in transition." She adds, "Both succession planning and access support can help protect the land by keeping that land in farming." Agricultural conservation ease- ments are a primary tool used by land trusts to permanently protect working farmland from non-agricultural devel- opment, even after it changes hands. Maine Farmland Trust adds that farmland protection can be achieved C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Lower Your Energy Costs with Efficiency Upgrades Efficiency Maine rebates help Maine businesses make the switch to high-efficiency systems. Rebate-eligible energy efficiency solutions can help Maine businesses, non-profits, multifamily and mixed-use buildings, schools, and municipalities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and increase long-term energy savings. Solutions include qualifying heat pumps for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; biomass heating systems; water heating; compressed air system components; refrigeration equipment; lighting retrofits; and more. Learn more about Efficiency Maine's rebates for the commercial and industrial sectors at efficiencymaine.com/at-work. Scan the QR code to access the link. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y H A P P Y T OW N FA R M At Happytown Farm in Orland, Karen and Paul Volckhausen and their tenant Angelica Harwood worked out a rolling seven-year lease. F O C U S

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