Take Root Conference

7:30-8am Registration and breakfast — Lobby/Heritage Room

8am Welcome — Heritage Room

8-9am Keynote: If Your Table Could Talk with Jolene Brown — Heritage Room

9-10:15am How We Did It: Succession Planning from the Kitchen Table with New View Agriculture, Terry and Jennie Koebel, Welden Farms and Swisslane Dairy, moderated by Jolene Brown — Heritage Room

10:15-10:30am Break

10:30-11:20am Estate Planning Essentials Group Session with Trent Hilding — Heritage Room

11:25am-12:15pm Breakout Session 1

• Money, Legacy, and the Farm: Planning with Your Lender with GreenStone Farm Credit Services — Room B106/107
• Longterm Planning with Michael Fraleigh, Fraleigh Law — Room B120
• Farm Estate Tax Planning with Jeff Bushey, CPA, Nietzke & Faupel, PC — Room B119

12:15-12:55pm Lunch — Heritage Room

1-1:50pm Breakout Session 2

• Milk the Right Cows Every Day – Financial Planning & Wealth Management with Ben Bakken, Tri-Star Trust; Vince Mastrovito, Julie Mann, and Camron Gnass — Room B106/107
• Large Farms & Multiple Operations with Michael C. Zahrt, Foster Swift — Room B120
• Farm Estate Tax Planning with Jeff Bushey, CPA, Nietzke & Faupel, PC — Room B119

1:55-2:45pm Breakout Session 3

• Estate Planning and Life Insurance Options with Trent Rappuhn, Frank Campione & Jim Dempsey, Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan — Room B106/107
• Choosing Your Farm's Business Structure and Examples of Succession Plans Utilizing Different Entities with Dean Reisner, Varnum Law — Room B120
• Distribution & Equalization Ideas for Distributing Your Estate Amongst Farm & Non-Farm Children with Danelle Harrington, Warner Norcross + Judd — Room B119

2:45-3pm Break

3-3:50pm Breakout Session 4

• Medicare Made Easy, Sylvia Bittner, Farm Bureau Health Services — Room B106/107
• Choosing Your Farm's Business Structure with Dean Reisner, Varnum Law — Room B120
• Young Farmer Focused Estate Planning with Thomas A. Doyle, Doyle Law PC — Room B119

3:55-4:30pm Keynote: Let Go of the Rope with Jolene Brown — Heritage Room

4:30pm Thank you and wrap-up — Heritage Room

Estate Planning Essentials for Agriculture — Group Session

Trent Hilding, Law Firm of Trent C. Hilding

Estate planning is the process of organizing how your assets — like land, money, and other property — will be managed and distributed after your death or if you become incapacitated. This Estate Planning 101 will give some of the basic tools used in order to protect your assets, provide for loved ones, and help minimize tax and legal complications.

Distribution and Equalization Ideas for Distributing your Estate Amongst Farm and Non-Farm Children

Danelle Harrington, Warner Norcross + Judd

This session focuses on strategies for distributing farm and non-farm assets fairly among farming and non-farming children while preserving the viability of the farm. It reviews case studies that illustrate examples of estate distributions that help balance family harmony, financial fairness, and long-term farm continuity

Medicare Made Easy 

Sylvia Bittner, Medicare Products Sales Specialist, Farm Bureau Health Services

Are you planning to retire soon? Are you or a family member turning age 65? Medicare can be confusing. It’s easy to miss important information and make a wrong choice that can cost you thousands of dollars down the road. Come to this session to learn the A,B,C’s (and D!) of Medicare from our Medicare expert. No products will be sold here. This is strictly educational.

Choosing Your Farm’s Business Structure – Partnerships/LLC/Sole Proprietorships

Dean Reisner, Varnum Law

This session details the different farm business structures — sole proprietorships, partnerships, and LLCs — and how each impacts liability, taxes, and management. Participants will learn how to choose a structure that aligns with their farm’s goals, risk tolerance, and long-term succession plans.

Farm Estate Tax Planning

Jeff Bushey, CPA, Nietzke & Faupel PC

Review of current estate tax system; Structures for farm transitions; Using estate tax rules to create tax benefits; Structures to reduce and or eliminate estate taxes; and Common Pitfalls to avoid in Estate and Succession Planning.

Estate Planning and Life Insurance Options

Trent Rappuhn, Frank Campione and Jim Dempsey, Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company

Uses for Life Insurance to maximize and preserve Farm succession and wealth. Strategies to provide income tax free liquidity to transfer Farm or other assets to next generation. Uses for insurance to equalize an estate when some family members will receive the farm and other family members may not be part of the farm operations. Increased awareness of tools for tax efficiency during lifetime and tax efficiency at death related to pending legislative tax proposals impacting farms, businesses, high income, high net worth taxpayers and those facing large capital gain transfers. Coordinate existing/additional insurance with overall estate plan.

Money, Legacy, and the Farm: Planning with Your Lender

GreenStone Farm Credit Services

Gain practical insights into estate and transition planning from a lender’s perspective. This session features real-life examples of farm operations that navigated succession successfully — and lessons learned from those that didn’t. Learn how to align your financial strategy with long-term goals and avoid common pitfalls.

Large Farms and Multiple Operations

Michael C. Zahrt, Foster Swift

Now you have multiple operations, generations of family members, and numerous farm employees. You have farm managers. You have grain elevators, livestock, trucking, real estate and cropping, all run independently. You do contract work for other farms and agribusinesses. What structure should you be moving to? Should you do it all at once or in stages? What are other companies doing?

Milk the Right Cows Every Day – Financial Planning & Wealth Management

Ben Bakken, Tri-Star Trust; Vince Mastrovito, Julie Mann, and Camron Gnass

This conversation takes a whole-farm/whole-family look at what actually drives profitability, resilience, and long-term flexibility. Consistent systems, the right people doing the right work, a brand that carries its share of the load, and personal finances structured to work for the owner all play a role. Value does not come from big moments or one-time decisions. It is created daily through alignment and discipline. You will leave with a clearer perspective on where your business is strong, where it may be exposed, a practical readiness score, and a better understanding of the options available to you and your family now and in the future for succession, so you can move forward with greater confidence, clarity, and control.

Longterm Planning

Michael Fraleigh, Fraleigh Law

This session explores practical strategies for planning and paying for long-term care while safeguarding the family farm and preserving generational wealth. Participants will learn about common long-term care risks facing farm families, available funding options, and planning tools that can help protect land, assets, and income.

Young Farmer Focused Estate Planning

Thomas A. Doyle, Doyle Law, PC

This session helps young farmers recognize the value of early estate planning in supporting long-term farm viability. It emphasizes the benefits of planning ahead, addresses common misconceptions, introduces essential planning tools, and explores practical case studies.