With under 2% of the population being involved in agriculture today, it’s more important now than ever that we keep our family farms going. That is the mission and passion of Elaine Froese who is a farm family transition expert.
Froese hails from Manitoba, Canada where she, her husband Wes, and their son Ian farm 5,000 certified seed crops. Growing up as a farm kid her family had a variety of animals and in 1998 her family had called a meeting to sit down and discuss their family farm plan. Then just a few weeks later her mother ended up passing from an asthma attack, leaving the family with an unfinished will and the dynamics and process that followed created stress and tension.
This situation would later be a catalyst for the drive behind Elaine’s career in coaching and speaking.
“The work I do is around helping farm families clarify their expectations and get certainty of timelines and agreements.” Froese explains. “So that way they can all come to the table as a farm family business and talk about what the future of their farm transition is going to look like.”
Froese studied at the Hudson Institute of Coaching at Santa Barbara, CA when she decided to take this career head on. She says it is there that gave her a map for responsibilities on how to facilitate conversation and handle conflict resolution.
“The anxiety I think really decreases when we start to decide we need to do this. We are not going to do it alone. And we’re going to reach out for coaching and facilitation.” Froese elaborates on the positives of what could happen when farm families take the time to work out conflict and transition.
Elaine has over 25 years of experience, 19,000 readers and followers, and has influenced over 9 million people all over North America and the world. She emphasizes her direct tie to agriculture to her success because she experiences it first hand every day and wants to make sure farm families can continue for years to come.
You can find Elaine and her team for coaching and additional services at their website https://farmfamilycoach.com/
