Free
Podcast Episode
22 minutes

Episode 61: Farm Transitions with Farmer Martha

Transitioning ownership of a family farm calls for many conversations about the family's needs, visions, and fears. Tune in to learn what those conversations looked like for one farmer.

Martha McFarland (she/her) operates Hawkeye Buffalo & Cattle Ranch on her family’s farm in northeast Iowa. Her father started the ranch, but today Martha owns and operates the business on farmland she rents from her niece. This arrangement and the succession plan for the business took years of conversations with family, tax advisors, and attorneys- and it is ultimately what allows Martha to run the farm with full autonomy, protecting the farmland, and preserving family unity. In this episode, Martha shares her story of finding a legal solution that matched her priorities.

Farm Commons is grateful to have worked with Martha as a member of the 2022 Collaborative Leadership Fellowship.

For a full transcript of this episode, please click here.

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ABOUT HAWKEYE BUFFALO & CATTLE RANCH

"Hawkeye Buffalo and Cattle is committed to ethically raising grazed animals. We believe in a practical balance between nature and the health of our herds. We never, ever use growth hormones. We only intervene with antibiotics as we would treat a sick kid, rarely and only when absolutely necessary. Our buffalo and cattle spend their life on pasture, eating grass and hay and a few ears of corn on our tours, which helps us when we want to move the bison or cattle. Sometimes (rarely) we will use it to help an animal who is not thriving and needs to gain weight. Always, we strive for happy, healthy animals and a connection to nature and the land."