International Farm Transition Network 2024 Annual Professional Development Conference

June 5-6, 2024
Richmond, Virginia

We hope you will join us in Virginia’s capital, Richmond, for two days of networking and learning about Intergenerational Considerations for Farm Transitions. Please see the conference details below.

*Please ONLY make hotel reservations by clicking button above 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Robert ‘Andrew’ Branan serves as Associate Extension Professor with the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University.  He is a lawyer who concentrates in agriculture, real property, and natural resource law, with a focus on farm and land succession.  He has managed a solo law practice that has served farmers, landowners and food entrepreneurs across North Carolina and Virginia on matters of business planning and management and asset transfer. He has also served as legal counsel to various food distribution and processing companies that create production opportunities for farmers.  He has a particular interest in counseling new and beginning farmers and inheritors of farmland, authoring the workbook Planning the Future of Your Farm for farm owners and Getting Started in Farming workbook for beginning farmers. Andrew graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and Wake Forest University Law School, and lives with his family just north of Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Dr Shane Conway is European Projects Manager at Ireland’s Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Teagasc, coordinating their work on a number of pan-European funded projects focused on agricultural extension and knowledge exchange. Dr Conway previously held the position of Lead Researcher and Lecturer in the Rural Studies Centre at the University of Galway for over 10 years, specialising in agricultural and rural social science, with a particular focus on the human side of farming, older farmers and intergenerational farm transfer. He has published widely on these topics and is also Co-Director of the International FARMTRANSFERS Project, a collaborative effort that assembles information on farm succession and retirement completed by over 18,000 farmers, in 13 countries globally. Dr Conway has been Vice Chair of the International Farm Transition Network (IFTN) Board of Directors since June 2021, and recently established a social initiative to bring about social inclusion, and in turn wellbeing, amongst the older generation of the farming community based on his previous research called ‘Farmer’s Yards’. A key focus of this initiative is providing older farmers with a platform to come together as a local peer group in a familiar and friendly Livestock Mart (Auction Market) setting. Shane is also a farmer, breeding pedigree Charollais Sheep on his family farm in the west of Ireland.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrShaneConway

LinkedIn Profile

ResearchGate Profile

Maggy Gregory is a partner in the law firm of Fisk & Gregory, PLC, and maintains her primary office in Chatham, Virginia, although she represents clients across Southern and Central Virginia.   She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and her juris doctor from the College of William and Mary.  She is licensed in both Virginia and Maryland, and clerked for a  trial judge on the Eastern Shore of Maryland prior to entering private practice.  She practices primarily in the areas of trusts and estates, and business succession and planning and advising, focusing on multi-generational and closely-held entity challenges including family farms of all types.   She is a member of the board of Danville Regional Foundation, a philanthropic organization with a focus on revitalizing the economic, health, and educational outcomes of the Dan River Region, and served for 7 years as the national chair of the American Bar Association’s Agriculture Law subcommittee.  When she is not practicing law, she and her husband own and operate Gregory Family Farms, raising and finishing beef cattle and meat lambs alongside their two sons.  

Brian Reed DVM, MBA has spent the last 36 years, since his graduation in 1987, working with predominantly dairy farm families as a veterinarian in southeastern PA.  Since receiving his MBA degree in 2001, he has combined his veterinary work with business consulting activities.  These consulting activities focus on assisting dairy farm families with strategic planning, profitability analysis and farm transition planning.  Dr. Reed also utilizes the Center for Dairy Excellence resources and grants to assist farm families going through the farm transition process.  Dr. Reed serves on the board of directors for Ephrata National Bank and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, where he also serves as project director and faculty for a USDA NIFA grant educating early career rural veterinarians in business management skills.  Brian Reed is proud to have received his Certified Farm Succession Coordinator Training in Pennsylvania in 2022.

In addition to teaching agriculture law and environmental law courses, Jennifer Friedel serves as the Director of Virginia’s Land Use-Value Assessment Program which provides estimates of the use valuation for agricultural and horticultural land within the Commonwealth. As an Assistant Professor of Practice, she is also active in the practice of law, particularly in natural resources and environmental law, contracts and agricultural law.

Crysti B. Hopkins is a Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent with Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) in Louisa County, VA.  She has been a co-chair of the VCE Agricultural Management and Economics program team since 2019. Crysti understands the importance of farm transition education as her family has successfully transitioned the family farm to her husband and now to her sons who are are 7^th generation farmers. She is passionate about assisting other families through this process. Her leadership in the area of farm transition planning has brought numerous trainings to Virginia professionals including an IFTN certified farm succession coordinator training in 2022.

Mackenzie Gunn is the Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent in Amelia County, Virginia. She joined Virginia Cooperative Extension in 2022 after completing her master’s degree at Mississippi State University studying disease management in farm raised catfish. She works with producers, homeowners, and youth in the county providing research-based information and programming on agricultural and natural resources topics. Her program focuses include heirs’ property and farm transition, animal production, and pond management.

SAMUEL DAVIS III – Principal, The Davis Group

As Principal in The Davis Group, Sam Davis brings extensive succession planning experience to the service of family businesses, nonprofit organizations and foundations.  Having served as an advisor to family businesses, family offices, nonprofits and foundations for more than two decades, Sam is recognized for his capabilities in addressing issues experienced by family enterprises and nonprofit organizations, including: leadership and ownership succession; strategic management; governance; and executive search.

Raised in a third-generation family business, Sam was designated a Fellow in the Family Firm Institute in 2006 based on his experience and demonstrated capabilities in addressing the intersection of family dynamics and business issues.  He brings clients a wealth of succession planning, executive search, governance, strategic planning and governance experience.  Over the years, Sam’s clients have included a balance of family enterprises, nonprofits and foundations. 

Prior to forming The Davis Group, Sam was a partner in Relative Solutions, a family enterprise consulting practice, and Signature Financial Management, a multi-family office located in Norfolk, Virginia.  Earlier, he enjoyed a successful business career as a senior executive in the real estate development and manufacturing industries, including serving as a Plant Manager for Philip Morris USA.  Sam served as an Adjunct Faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Business for almost 10 years, teaching Strategic Management and Organizational Behavior, and he served as Interim Director of VCU’s Family Business Forum for 2 years. 

Sam earned an MBA in Finance at The Wharton School of Business and graduated from The Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts with an MTS in Ethics and Theology.  He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis where he received his BS degree in Naval Engineering. He served as a Trustee of Saint Paul’s College and on the boards of 15 nonprofit organizations. Sam and his wife Susan live in Richmond, Virginia where Susan recently retired as Senior Vice President at The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia.

Darlene Livingston has served as the Executive Director of PA Farm Link for 15 years. Leading the organization’s farm succession education and facilitation services, and developing next level farm succession programming. Darlene has been instrumental in bringing the importance of farm succession to the forefront of the ag industry in Pennsylvania.

Darlene oversees continued education programs for ag professionals; and Farm Link’s online learning academy for farmers, along with many digital and print resources. She assists with farmer and land databases, and beginning farmer programs as well.

Born and raised on a diversified farm, Darlene has a lifetime of farm experience working with three generations on the farm.  Her family currently owns and operates Mahoning Creek Farm a Pennsylvania Preserved century farm.

Donna Truesdell RN, MS

Donna is a registered nurse and licensed independent health insurance and Medicare broker in Pennsylvania.  She has also been involved in farming for more than 30 years.  Donna has been involved in case management of health care needs in various settings and has supported financial planners with client strategic planning.  Currently Donna assists families with planning for, understanding the options, and arranging for long term care needs of family members.

Previously Donna was an administrator in two Massachusetts hospitals where she presented and published in the field of healthcare quality.

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*Deadline to receive the above items is May 15, 2024. Please signify your intent to sponsor at button above or scan QR code above.