How women fit in the farm succession planning picture

The role of women in family farming succession plans has been hotly debated in recent weeks. But the realities of modern succession planning is far more nuanced.

Matilda, Jemima, Molly and Bonnie Penfold. Picture: Supplied.

Farming across a sprawling cattle operation over multiple properties in Western Queensland, the Penfold family have put their four daughters at the centre of a succession plan for their sprawling cattle operation.

In so doing, not only did parents Dan and Karen Penfold leverage the plan as a point difference in marketing their premium black Angus operation, but they bucked national trend in succession planning by naming all four of their children successors, regardless of their gender.

The Penfold daughters – Bonnie, Molly, Jemima and Matilda – manage a multitude of beef operations, supplying premium beef domestically and into direct Chinese and Hong Kong markets.

Their 150-day grain fed premium brand, known as Four Daughters, is a nod to the young women, all in their 20s.

When the decision was made to centre future plans for the farm around them, 22-year-old Jemima said it gave her and her siblings “more encouragement” to invest emotionally in the future of the business, and “to not just treat it as a job”.

“This is yours, and the more you put in now … it makes me think more into the future, about what you do now and how it affects you in 20 years,” Ms Penfold said.

Despite her positive experience with succession planning, Ms Penfold said agriculture was “terrified” of the word succession.

“It’s pushed back, swept under the rug until you have to deal with it,” Ms Penfold said.

Four Daughters boxed beef, managed by the Penfold daughters Bonnie, Molly, Jemima and Matilda. Picture: Supplied.

THE FEAR TO SUCCEED

The Penfolds are, of course, in the position of only having daughters to pass the business down to; research indicates that for many women in farming families, the succession path is not so easily trodden.

A recent University of New England study, Changing scripts: Gender, family farm succession and increasing farm values in Australia, found daughters are still not as likely as firstborn sons to be named successor on Australian farms, with data showing less than 10 per cent of families nominated a female successor.

It’s a trend out of step with the number of women working and studying in the agriculture industry, with data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency showing women account for about 35 per cent of the workforce across agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries in 2022-23, with female representation in the paid workforce lifting significantly in the past 40 years.

Put simply, more women are working in agriculture and obtaining qualifications in the industry, but are not being tapped on the shoulder to take on the family business in comparison to sons.

Marla-based producer and livestock industry leader Gillian Fennell has heard dozens of succession horror stories during her time in agriculture, particularly where women are isolated and ignored during succession discussions.

It’s inspired her to release a podcast detailing farming succession planning stories from across the country.

“I know of a family … the father and daughter were farming together, and the bank said to the father “if you don’t make her the boss, we won’t extend you any more credit”. He didn’t talk to her for a few years,” Ms Fennell said.

“The fact that it gets to that state, and not putting the best people in charge because of egos, it doesn’t say things about agriculture as a progressive employer.”

THE MARCH OF CORPORATE AGRICULTURE

Mike Stephens has spent four decades advising farmers with succession planning advice, through his company Meridian Agriculture.

He said while women are “very well represented” in agriculture, old values occasionally prevailed at the succession planning table: “There’s still a lot of people who will think that the son has to be the person who carries on.”

However, it’s not the only factor making succession planning difficult in the current climate.

Dr Stephens said one of the biggest challenges family farms faced was rapidly-rising land values, with the “march of corporate agriculture” and an increasingly difficult financial landscape making the division of assets significantly harder, with more buyers present in the market.

“Often those buyers have deep pockets and can invest heavily to bring a low performance farm up to scratch,” Dr Stephens said.

“Corporate buyers increase competition which makes ithard for expanding family farms but good for those who want to sell and retire.”

In the past 30 years, the number of farm businesses has shrunk as average farm sizes increased, according to the UNE report.

While Dr Stephens doesn’t have a precise figure, he estimated family farm ownership had softened in recent years.

“The big challenge, with land values as they are, is to try and get any sort of handing over of family assets in any way equitable between the farmer, or non-farmer, whether they are female or not,” Dr Stephens said.

“The more land prices go up, the more difficult it becomes because the increase in land values has outperformed other asset classes over the same period.”

Dr Stephens referenced figures which showed 55 per cent of broadacre farms nationally are below $400,000 in gross value.

“We’re talking about a small population where succession of a viable business is financially possible,” Dr Stephens said.

“Then the next generation has to be prepared to step up, then we get to if it’s going to be a he or a she.”

Four Daughters, Pink Box Beef.

THE FUTURE IS FEMALE

When talking about the dynamics at play in family succession, Jemima Penfold said the lack of females taking on the farm could be explained by a lag in data, with young women entering the industry yet to be presented with an opportunity to become a farm successor.

“Plenty of businesses are still owned by grandparents,” she said.

The average age of Australian farmers is 58, more than 20 years older than other industries, adding another dynamic to the story of fair and equitable succession, according to the UNE report.

And Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed employees in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries industry had the highest average age of intended retirement in 2022-23, at 68.3 years.

This is in comparison to the average age of intended retirement across the broader employment pool at 65.3 in 2022-23.

The disparity between the age of farming daughters with an interest in taking on the family business, against the above-average age of retirement, could explain the low numbers of women named as successors, Ms Penfold said.

“I reckon that number will change,” Ms Penfold said.