With more ranchers reaching retirement age, the need for thoughtful succession planning is becoming increasingly important. Simultaneously, the next generation of agrarians is seeking opportunities to become future land stewards. Passing the Reins: A Succession Planning Workshop is designed to spark meaningful conversations, share examples of successful transitions, and build a supportive community for both new agrarians and seasoned farmers and ranchers.

The workshop will dive into the legal side of succession as well as the lesser-discussed interpersonal dynamics that can make the process so challenging.

      • A panel discussion of farmers and ranchers who have creatively and successfully navigated succession will offer their perspectives
      • Break-out sessions for both experienced and beginning agrarians will give participants an opportunity to learn from their peers.
      • Those who attend the workshop will leave with a toolkit for knowing what questions to ask as they start their succession planning journey.

Coffee, light snacks, and lunch will be provided. Fee for the workshop is on a sliding scale, $0-100. Additional donations are also appreciated. Check out the agenda below.

Lodging: Attendees can reserve hotel rooms for March 15-16 at the Sleep Inn & Suites Miles City until February 16, 2026. Call (406) 232-3000 to reserve a room in the “Succession Planning Group” block at a discounted rate of $139/night. Limited rooms are available. (See financial support info below for assistance with lodging costs.)

Questions about the workshop? Contact Mattie Griswold at mattie@quiviracoalition.org.

 

Additional Financial Support: If you are a Montana resident and are interested in receiving financial support for registration and/or lodging, funding is available from Rural Employment Opportunities of Montana. Learn more about eligibility and how to apply here. Questions? Contact Ashley Milsop, Client Service Coordinator at 406-437-2382 or ashley@reomontana.org.

8-9:00 a.m. – Welcome! Registration & coffee
9-10:30 a.m. – The Legal side of Succession with Cat Kelly
10:30-11:00 a.m. – Break – coffee & light snacks
11:00 am -12:00 p.m. – Ranching Without Inheritance: Pathways for New Producers: Panel discussion with Paul Neubauer, Morgan Atkinson, and Montana Caise moderated by Julie Sullivan
12-1:00 p.m. – Lunch
1-2:00 p.m. Ranch Succession in Practice: Producer Perspectives: Panel discussion with Amber Smith, Diane Ahlgren, and Abbey Bruski moderated by Brett McRae
2-3:00 p.m. – Roundtables Conversations:
Holding Ground, Making Change: Succession Planning for the Next Generation with Cat Kelly
Ranch Succession in Practice with Producer Panelists
Creative Pathways with Early Career Agrarians
3-3:30 p.m. – Break, coffee & light snacks, door prizes
3:30-4:30 p.m. – Creative Career Paths and Lessons Learned with Julie Sullivan, Rancher and Founding Mentor of Quivira’s New Agrarian Program
4:30-5:00 p.m. – Closing

Diane Ahlgren grew up in the Winnett area, spending her early years on the Musselshell River, riding horseback or walking to Ross School – a log building with anywhere from 4 to 10 students. After high school in Winnett, Diane married her husband, Skip from Grass Range, in 1978. They were both raised on small family operations and the ranching dream began with working on ranches and accumulating a small herd of cattle.  The 1980’s brought an attempt to lease a ranch during high interest rates, low cattle prices, and the usual drought and grasshoppers, which, other than being a humbling learning experience, was not successful. 

Perseverance prevailed and Skip and Diane were given the opportunity to lease a neighbor’s small ranch and later buy the property. They continued to build on that with purchase of neighboring pieces of ranchland assets. Those 40 years of humbling hardship, opportunities offered, and the satisfaction of building something, are what have shaped them and their passion to pass that opportunity on to the next generation. Recently part of their place was first leased, and now sold, to a nephew and his family. The rest of the ranch is currently leased to a young family who was recommended by a mutual friend. 

Skip and Diane are now testing out semi-retirement on a smaller property in the Grass Range area, running bred heifers in the summertime and doing very little, other than some hobbies, in the wintertime. It brings great satisfaction to watch the next generations navigate the trials and successes of the ranching business. Diane highly recommends it!

 

Amber Smith is a Montana rancher whose passion is rooted in building a future where rural families thrive and all people are empowered and supported in pursuing work that aligns with their most deeply held values. Her time spent studying in the Middle East, and five years as the Director of Activities in a rural nursing home, during her tenure being selected as “The Best Activity Director in the State,” helped her develop a unique passion for creating communities of dignity, acceptance, joy and respect across difference. She is the Executive Director of Women in Ranching, which has provided her a platform on which to continue rural community building through supporting women’s leadership on the land. She currently serves on her local country school board and is the treasurer of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance. She and her partner are raising their two children and stewarding Antelope Springs Ranch near Cohagen, MT, running their commercial cattle alongside their custom grazing business, Terroir Land and Livestock on 53,000 acres of predominantly native shortgrass prairie.

 

Cat Kelly is an attorney, rancher, and founder of Ranch Legacy, a consulting service dedicated to helping farmers and ranchers protect their operations, land, and families for the long term. Through Ranch Legacy, she provides practical and legal-based guidance on succession planning, business structuring, and land use strategies. Cat and her family ranch full time, as she manages a community grazing operation, working alongside multiple family operations. Her husband is a full-time rancher and cowboy, and together their work bridges legal expertise with real-world experience, supporting generational operations as they navigate transition, growth, and stewardship.

 

Brett McRae is a fifth generation rancher on his family’s commercial cattle operation near Colstrip, MT. He graduated from Montana State University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in business and worked for three years as a farm broadcaster for the Northern Ag Network before returning home to the family ranch in south-central Rosebud county. 

Abbey Bruski