After his father’s death, Warren Miller returned to the Palouse region of Washington state to assume the role of fifth generation steward of the family’s 1,200 acre wheat, barley and canola farm. Although he’d grown up helping out on the farm, his father had always handled operations like spraying, seeding and fertilizing. “My biggest challenge was I didn’t really have a mentor or someone I could go to and hit with questions,” Miller says.
But instead of giving up, he turned to his neighbors. A retired farmer up the road offered tips on timing and tillage practices to conserve moisture. Others encouraged him to try new approaches and crops, offering support when things didn’t go as planned. “Don’t be afraid to try that stuff,” Miller advises, “but if you are going to try it, definitely try to have resources in that area.”
Miller also encourages families to prioritize estate planning to ease generational transitions. Sitting down and making a plan can help clarify the intentions of all of the individuals involved in the operation. “You kind of have to re-buy the farm from your family,” he explains, noting that an intentional process helps finance retirement for one generation while preparing the next one to take over.
This video is one in a series produced by SARE titled Practical Tips for Beginning Farmers. Based on their own experiences when starting out, farmers from across the country share advice about common challenges facing beginning farmers in today's agriculture. To view the entire series, visit www.sare.org/resources/practical-tips-for-beginning-farmers/.
For information on grants and resources available from SARE, visit www.sare.org.