Counting on a New Crop

In January, we invited community members in Park County to explore what it means to leave a legacy in North America’s working wild by hosting a film festival. Park County Open Lands presented a series of short films that invited reflection on how private lands provide for wildlife and how farmers and ranchers are taking control of the future of their land and legacy.

Counting on a New Crop, a short film, illustrated how 66-year-old farmer Jim Giffen partnered with a 23-year-old electrician, Jon, to create a succession plan for his farm in Minesing, Ontario. Jon began to work a summer job on the farm and formed a friendship with Jim starting when he was just thirteen. Jon came back summer after summer to work on the land and began to fall in love with farming. Since Jim’s children were not interested in farming, Jim eventually asked Jon if taking over the farm one day was of interest to him. Luckily for Jon, owning a farm was not only an interest, but a dream.

The biggest obstacle between Jon and buying the farm was the capital gains tax. They would owe half a million dollars if the farm was transferred to a non-family member. However, Jim and Jon were able to find a way around the issue. By opting to sell Jon the farm piece by piece, Jim’s land will remain in agriculture, and Jon will realize his dream of owning and operating a farm.

Although the path to this kind of non-familia land transfer has been full of challenges, Jim and Jon know that the farm is worth the struggles they have faced. Jon took on two full-time jobs and a loan to begin paying for the land. Jim faced the reality of succession head on and took action to ensure his land will be  transferred with his values in mind. Together, Jim and Jon have started building a legacy that will continue for generations to come.

Park County Open Lands is committed to protecting and stewarding Northwest Wyoming landscapes for current and future generations. By introducing “Planning for The Next Generation” as a new section in our newsletters, we will emphasize stories about local landowners and the legacy on the land.