How being open and transparent about succession at an early stage has paid off

Looking to the future

Few people are as forward-looking and practical about the issue of succession as the Forbes family in Kilmore, west Waterford.

The farm is run day-to-day by Richard, 60, and Laura, 51, along with their four children. With dairy profits rising, both parents were very aware of the need for tax planning along with an efficient and effective succession plan.

They began their conversation with Eoghan Drea, Partner in ifac’s Dungarvan office as they looked to succession and tax planning.

Thomas, now 25, always knew that agriculture was the path he wanted to pursue and had been away studying agriculture at this time. He took a keen and active interest from a very early age along with his three siblings. Laura comments that “we don’t have a huge pocket of land, so it was evident from early on that two wages was all the farm could support.”

The upshot is that a limited company will be incorporated next spring, with Laura and Thomas each taking a 20% stake and the remainder being held by Richard. At present, the family is milking 240 cows on a 400-acre farm (300 of which are leased), with spring calving and feeding all year round.

Richard’s parents started things off by taking on a Land Commission farm back in the late 70’s, which Richard took over in 2001 and Laura has been part of his life since the early 90’s. She plays a very active part in the life of the farm, particularly since around 2005 when the children became more independent and she was able to focus more on the day-to-day running of the farm.

The formal addition of Thomas to Team Forbes has already been a success. He’s been a key driver of breeding improvement and has been making most of the key AI decisions. It’s paid off handsomely, and the farm just got pedigree status for the herd this year.