Mike Downey

Background

About Mike Downey

There's no more beautiful way of life than raising a family on a farm! I was born & raised on a family farm but the income from the farm was not enough to support me. This led me down the traditional path of going to college to receive an ag degree & I've worked in a professional role with farmers and landowners the last 25 years. Despite my dream of owning my own farm, I spent the first half of my career investing my future retirement in a 401k. This changed after the 2008 financial crisis. I became frustrated with the conventional wisdom of "staying the course, you have time on your side." This is when my wife & I discovered we could self-direct & diversify our IRA's in alternative investments other than the stock market. Since then, the passive off-farm income from such investments has allowed us to take control of our calendars, co-found an ag consulting company Next Gen Ag Advocates, start a Farm Raised passive investment community, and more recently: Support a goal in purchasing our 1st farm- a legacy we wish to pass down to our children. Meanwhile, the multigenerational farm I grew up on fell victim to a poor succession plan. In fact, it's estimated 70% of family farms don't have a written succession plan! In fact, very few farms survive to making it past 2 or 3 generations. This is where my passion lies today: Helping farmers, landowners & ag professionals grow, diversify & transition their family legacies through farm business coaching & written succession plans. I currently lead the succession program at UnCommon Farms - a farmer-owned organization of like-minded farms who want to work "on" the business not just "in" the business. We focus on 6 key areas: • Strategic planning • Solid books & Financials • Human Resources & Labor • Management & Leadership Transition • Succession Planning • Risk Management Each farm has their own Coach & Financial consultant, as well as access to a number of other resources & peer groups. Want to learn more? Send me a DM & I'm happy to have a discovery call.