There is a huge appetite among farmers for information on farm transfers from a legal and tax perspective, Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) farm business chair Rose Mary McDonagh has said.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at a farm succession meeting in Roscommon on Thursday night, she said that even the soft talking at the start of the meeting to open the discussion can start the conversation.

“What you say and what someone else hears can be completely different.

“Everybody has to be included in the conversation [around farm transfers]. The phrase used here tonight [is] a fair share and an equal share,” she said.

Succession

She added that people look at things differently when it comes to succession.

The younger generation was well represented in Roscommon on the night, which was the final of four IFA succession and inheritance meetings.

Speakers from Teagasc, Succession Ireland, ifac and agri solicitor Aisling Meehan outlined the issues to be aware of around farm transfers.

Clare O’Keeffe from Succession Ireland said that the interest in certain succession topics had been different in parts of the country.

“The farming styles are different. Family concerns and the part-time farmer does influence the engagement and the questions that were asked,” she said.

The four speakers wanted to cover as much as possible on the night around inheritance and succession, without giving an information overload to the farm families in attendance on the night, McDonagh said.

Farmers looking for more information are advised to contact services such as Teagasc or their own private planners, speak with a solicitor or accountant and, most importantly, to start the conversation at home with their family.