The older generations have spent their entire professional lives gathering and using the power and control that they accumulated through hard work and their long tenures. Having them retire and give up that control and power is difficult for some in those generations. Overall, it is challenging for them to give up control or power because that is all they’ve known. They don’t really know how to act differently in some cases.
The older generation needs to realize that the younger generations need to be trained and incorporated into the operation in a planned and measured way. If they are just on the business end of fencing pliers or the manure pitchfork, they are not as likely to hang around the operation like the boomers did 40 years ago. Getting that younger generation started with management and decision-making is more important than ever. But it must be done to give the younger producers experiences to learn, but not enough to harm the overall success of the operation.
For insights on how families can learn to better share power and control, continue reading this article by Nebraska Extension Educator Allan Vyhnalek.
