“…However, the size, value, and sustainability of an operation may be directly dependent on identification of a successor. Studies have documented that farms with an identified successor are more likely to invest in assets, new technology, and business development than those that do not have an apparent successor (Potter & Lobely, 1996;Mishra & El-Osta, 2007;Calus, Van Huylenbroeck, & Van Lierde, 2008;Viira, Poder, & Varnik, 2009;Inwood & Sharp, 2012). Furthermore, as each generation becomes further removed from the farm, perhaps due to years of aging operators not envisioning retirement for themselves (Baker & Epley, 2009;Kirkpatrick, 2013), the pool of beginning operator candidates who have the technical and tactical expertise, in addition to the necessary capital, to become principal operators themselves is shrinking.…”