Estate and succession planning for farmers
February 10, 2026 | Henry Center for Executive Development, MSU Campus
Discover practical tools and expert insights to help you navigate the future of your family farm. With tailored breakout sessions and access to professionals in law, finance, and planning, this one-day event is designed to meet your farm succession needs.
Registration is open October 1, 2025 - January 30, 2026.
Keynote Speaker
Jolene Brown, CSP, CPAE
Jolene Brown is a walking, talking spokesperson and champion for the people of agriculture. She’s a farmer in eastern Iowa, contributor to Successful Farming magazine’s popular family business column, author and member of the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame. Audiences worldwide appreciate her fun spirit and valuable information. She’s on a mission to share leading-edge best practices, appreciation, laughter and celebration to increase productivity, profitability and peace of mind.
Agenda and Breakout Sessions
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
- Financial Resilience: Insights on Legal, Tax, and Financial Strategies for Farms 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
- Financial Planning & Wealth Management Case Studies – Prosperous Plots & Harvest Hiccups with Ben Bakken, Tri-Star Trust — 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 and Examples of Succession Plans Utilizing Different Entities 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
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
Description coming soon.
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 and Examples of Succession Plans Utilizing Different Entities
Dean Reisner, Varnum Law
Description coming soon.
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.
Financial Resilience: Insights on Legal, Tax, and Financial Strategies for Farms
GreenStone Farm Credit Services
Description coming soon.
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?
Financial Planning & Wealth Management Case Studies — Prosperous Plots and Harvest Hiccups
Ben Bakken, Tri-Star Trust
A review of case studies detailing financial planning and wealth management successes and failures.
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