Landowners and the community are invited to attend a free workshop designed for farmers and ranchers to learn succession tools in planning for the next generation of agricultural legacy on October 24-25.
Hosted by the Bitter Root Land Trust (BRLT), the workshop titled “Learn Succession & Land Transfer Tools from Your Local Partners in Agriculture” will be featured as part of the Bitterroot Stockgrowers Ag Expo & Banquet on October 24 – 25 at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds in Hamilton. The workshop is the second of a three-part succession planning series, “Keep Working Land in Working Hands,” designed by BRLT and partners in agriculture to address the complex challenges that affect farm and ranch families, including retiring landowners and financial limitations to entry level agricultural producers.
The workshop will kick off with a panel discussion featuring local leaders and families in agriculture on Friday, October 24 at 6:00 p.m. at the First Interstate Building. Panelists include Dan Kerslake, conservation easement landowner, rancher and local realtor, Wade Weber, CPA and Certified Estate Planner, Max Smith, first-generation farmer and co-owner of Winter Kissed Farm, Ian Crowe, Senior Portfolio Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Mary Ellis, program director for Farm Connection Montana’s Beginning Farmer & Rancher program, and John Masar, attorney with LionWood Law, PLLC practicing in areas of tax law, business and estate planning, and elder law.
Groff Farm in Victor, 472 acres conserved in 2025 by the Groff family in partnership with the Bitter Root Land Trust. Photo courtesy of Wide Angle Photography.
The classroom portion will follow on Saturday, October 25 at 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in the Floral Building. The sessions will focus on the building blocks of succession planning, the financial and legal components, as well as tools available to support the process such as conservation easements – a tool that has been utilized by more than 60 families in the Bitterroot Valley to conserve more than 14,000 acres of open lands, including family farms and ranches, in partnership with BRLT to date.
As part of BRLT’s selection to participate in the American Farmland Trust’s Land Transfer Navigators Program, a national program aimed to increase the transfer of farm and ranch land to a new generation of producers, the workshop series was created by partners in agriculture including Montana State University Ag Extension Office, Bitterroot Stockgrowers Association, Ravalli County Right to Farm & Ranch Board, Bitterroot Farm Bureau, Montana Farmers Union, Farm Connect Montana, and local trusted specialists on succession planning.
“We are excited to offer this program to our community that has traditions steeped in agriculture and local food production,” says Melissa Odell, Lands Director for the Bitter Root Land Trust. “To help ensure agriculture continues to be a driver for our local economy, it is critical to connect our valley’s farmers and ranchers with resources to support and engage the next generation of agricultural producers.”
For more information about the Bitterroot Stockgrowers Ag Expo, visit www.bitterrootsg.org. For more information about the Bitter Root Land Trust, visit www.bitterrootlandtrust.org. For more information about the American Farmland Trust’s Land Transfer Navigators Program, visit www.farmland.org/land-transfer-navigators.