An organiser of a farm succession summit held on Friday at Massey University says family business facilitators are taking on a more important role as soaring land values make inter-generational transition more difficult.
Tom Phillips from Massey's centre of excellence in farm business management says a recent survey by ANZ Bank found that farm succession is an issue for 80% of farmers but that fewer than 10% have a plan in place.
He says it is important for families get together and talk about succession.
"It's certainly the responsibility of the older generation to start talking about what they want to happen and what their dreams are for the longer term, and their ambitions."
He said it is a case of families needing to be talking to each other, and if that cannot happen by itself then they need to bring in a third party to help them resolve the situation.
