The people who built Nebraska agriculture are aging out of it. The 2022 Census of Agriculture puts the average age of a U.S. farm producer at 58.1 years, with roughly a third of all producers 65 or older. Statewide, more than 44,000 farms and ranches work close to 44 million acres, the overwhelming majority of Nebraska's land base, and a large share of that ground will change hands within a single generation.

For most families the exit options are narrow and expensive. An outright sale can trigger federal and state capital-gains tax on decades of appreciation, and once the check clears the ground usually leaves the family for good. A Section 1031 like-kind exchange defers that tax, but the IRS clock is unforgiving: 45 days to identify a replacement property and 180 days to close, and at the end you are still a landlord, just somewhere else.

A tax-deferred contribution into the network is built for the family that wants a third path: defer the tax event, keep economic value tied to the land, and, where it fits, lease the operation back and keep working the ground. Heirs receive a clean, divisible interest instead of an undivided quarter-section that has to be argued over at the kitchen table.

None of this is one-size-fits-all, and none of it is advice. Every transition carries tax, estate, and legal consequences that turn on your cost basis, your entity structure, and your goals. We coordinate with your CPA and attorney so the plan is yours: documented, reviewed, and defensible.