Non-traditional succession helps couple realize dream Michelle Cook Nevada Rancher Magazine
“They have the desire and motivation to lift the heavy stuff off my shoulders,” says Allan Schweizer from his place at the kitchen table in a recently renovated farmhouse in eastern Oregon. Schweizer is the 65-year-old owner of Schweizer Organics. “It’s nice to see what I envisioned, what I built, continue,” he says. Schweizer is speaking about the 950-acre organic grain farm which he has managed and owned through several incarnations across the span of four decades. Schweizer is in the process of transitioning the farm to the young couple seated across from him. Schweizer’s successors, Gary and Reesa Hanson, hold sweat equity in the farmhouse renovations. In exchange for their work, they live here with their growing family on the farm they now co-manage with Schweizer. The couple holds no familial relation to Schweizer, and met him through a Craigslist ad. But, Reesa says, to the nodding of heads, “We have become a family.” All this has been made possible by Schweizer, who — in wanting to ensure his farm found the right heirs—allowed an enterprising couple to realize their dreams in an industry where many newcomers struggle to ever achieve viability. Schweizer only began to think about retirement and succession planning around 55. His children are now adults following their own paths—and though he has a son who farms with him, he would prefer to stay out of the farm’s management. So, Schweizer has had to pursue a less conventional route to the succession of the farm. Schweizer posted an ad on Craigslist early in 2014. It read: “I am seeking a
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forward-thinking individual or couple to join my 950-acre organic farming operation … Ethics and trust are a cornerstone of organic farming and are important to my operation. I want to share my 40 years of farm experience with someone who is willing to work to improve my farm.”
Farm dreams The Hansons met working in the kitchen at a bilingual school in Ecuador. A native Iowan, Gary had always dreamed of farming, and Reesa, who is from Colorado and holds a degree in secondary education and years of professional experience in kitchens, was eager to support this dream. “I was always moving toward what felt important to me,” Reesa says. “Farming, producing people’s food—that felt important.” When the Hansons returned to Iowa, they hoped to farm on Gary’s family land. When that proved unfeasible for reasons beyond their control, they began to look for other options. The initial investment necessary to raise livestock alongside grains at a marketable scale limited the Hansons’ ability to start from scratch. To create the farm they envisioned, they sought an established operation managed by someone willing to work with them to realize the farm’s future. When the Hansons answered Schweizer’s ad, they were still wet behind the ears. But they shared Schweizer’s values—they wanted to farm as land stewards using practices modeled by balanced ecosystem function. In teaming up with Schweizer, they found a perfect fit. Before joining Schweizer, the Hansons gained much of their understanding
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