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Succession Planning Team

The succession planning team is specifically for those farms interested in transitioning the business over the next 5-10 years. Teams are required to meet at least four times a year, and the teams must be willing to engage in developing a strategic plan for transitioning the dairy business.

Annual funding levels for a Succession Planning Team are:
-- $2,000 for existing teams
-- $1,000 for new teams

The funding can be used to cover the cost of paid team members as well as discovery-related costs associated with the team's work. All expenses must be submitted to the Center for Dairy Excellence within 60 days of incurring the expense for reimbursement. Meeting notes and other requested reports should also be provided on a timely basis.

For an application, click here.

For program guidelines, click here.

The Program:

  • Newly-established Succession Planning Teams have up to $2,000 in annual funding available to cover costs associated with the succession planning team. Teams established prior to Jan. 1, 2012, have $1,000 in available funds. All new teams must participate in a “start-up” training workshop.
  • The Center and the Penn State Extension Dairy Team provide a “start- up” training workshop for new teams and assign a support person to each team to provide resources and share successful ideas from other teams. Click here for dates and times of upcoming team training sessions.
  • The annual funding could be used to cover up to 100 percent of all costs associated with the team, including the cost of paid team members (up to $450 per meeting) and the cost of any discovery-related cost.
  • Examples could include:
    • Using a Practical Dairy Advisor -- an experienced producer hired by the Center and paid by the producer through the Target Team Program to provide consulting expertise to the Target Team farm
    • Using the PA Dairy Tool – developed by Penn State Dairy Extension to help drill down to specific bottlenecks in the operation. Find out more at the PA Dairy Tool website. 
  • The producer also identifies team members, which would include a core group of individuals who can serve as advisors on the issue. The team members can represent traditional and non-traditional areas – such as engineering, legal, planning.
  • Succession planning teams must complete an initial and summary questionnaire to document change or improvement resulting from the team’s efforts. Teams must also provide meeting notes to the Center for Dairy Excellence, and they must provide any requested information within 60 days after the initial request.
  • The Succession Planning Team must meet regularly to evaluate the progress the farm is making toward accomplishing the goal and to develop/assign the next steps team members and the farm should take in accomplishing goal.

For more information, contact Program Manager Heidi Zimmerman at 717-346-0849 or hzimmerman@centerfordairyexcellence.org.