Farm Family Transitions — Navigating Legacy, Ownership, Family Expectations

Our farms represent both heritage and opportunity. When families build operations so strong the next generation wants to stay, new questions emerge about roles, ownership, decision-making, and future growth.

Join Todd Churchill and Heather Parbst for a practical conversation on navigating family farm transitions. 

Drawing from his work as a farm family facilitator, Todd shares real-world stories from multi-generational farm and ranch families facing decisions around operating and non-operating owners, governance and decision-making, legal ownership transitions, funding new enterprises, and retirement and estate planning.

Todd’s family operates a grain farm near Moline, IL, as well as a cattle ranch and horse training business in Purcell, OK. He lives on a farm in Cannon Falls, MN, where he and his wife Dee raise grass-fed cattle and horses with their children. Todd also leads the agriculture, food, and beverage industry team for outsourced accounting services at CLA. 

Heather Parbst leads CLA’s owner transition advisory work with family businesses and brings a structured lens to how families clarify ownership intent, make aligned decisions, and prepare for successful generational transitions. 

Together, Todd and Heather combine lived farm experience with advisory insight to help families move from uncertainty to clearer, shared direction.

At the end of this session, you’ll be able to: 

• Understand the difference between succession planning and estate tax planning
• Understand the requirements for a successful multi-generational family farm/ranch

Who should attend

This session is designed for family farm owners, successors, and key advisors who are preparing for or actively managing the transition of a family farm business.

Questions?

Contact CLA’s meetings, events, and experience team at CLAevents@CLAconnect.com.