A John Deere Publication
Abe and Elaine Buttimer, and their son Jordan are wrestling with the same problem that thousands of other farmers are facing. How can they make it easier for Jordan to take over the farm without impoverishing themselves?
Agriculture, Livestock/Poultry March 01, 2026
Passing the Torch
Diversified farm prepares for transition.
Story and Photos by Lorne McClinton
Change is coming to Abelaine Farms. Abe and Elaine Buttimer have spent the last 35 years building up their dairy, grain, and custom farming operation near New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island. But now the conversation around the kitchen table is shifting. They're wrestling with the same problem thousands of other farms are facing. How can they make it easier for their son Jordan to take over the farm when they retire without impoverishing themselves and possibly risking their life's work in the process?
''We're empty-nesters now and it's quieter,'' Abe says. ''But the change weighs on us. I've had a succession plan in my head for a while now, but we started the formal succession process with Jordan this winter. We'll bring in outside specialists to help us if we need to. This is the only succession I ever want to go through, and I want to get it right.''
Abe and Elaine built their operation from scratch. They bought their dairy in 1990 in the aftermath of a tragedy; the former owner and his young son had died in a house fire. Their new farm no longer had a house, so they lived with Elaine's parents down the road while they built a 24-by-28 winterized cottage. It was tiny but it was home until they could afford to build their current home five years later. They built a new dairy barn in 2003 and haven't stopped expanding since.
Now their enterprise includes 35 milkers, 900 acres of crops, a thriving commercial seed business, a large straw market, and a thriving custom farming business. It's a lot to hand over financially and operationally, plus there's the emotional toll of relinquishing control of your life's work.
Jordan has been training to take over the farm since he was two. He'd spend his days at Abe's feet in the tractor cab and never want to go home. By the time he reached his middle teens he was such a skilled equipment operator that the neighbors would hire him to run and repair machinery three days a week.
Until now Elaine has been in charge of the dairy while Abe oversees the rest of their operations. Jordan though is deeply embedded in all aspects of cropping, custom work, trucking, and the day-to-day repairs that keep Abelaine Farms humming.
''There's not much he doesn't know about everything that happens outside the barn,'' Abe Buttimer says. ''But he still has lots to learn about what happens inside the barn and mastering management decisions.''
Above. Elaine runs the dairy and Abe oversees the rest of the operation. Jordan is deeply involved in all parts of the operation. It takes all three to handle the workload, Jordan has to determine how he'll manage it after they retire.
Still, they're moving forward. They have a newer line of equipment and Jordan purchased an adjoining farm with the help of Abe and Elaine. The property came with an 1850s-era farmhouse.
He's still wrapping up the farmhouse renovations but the family has moved in. It sends a signal that they aren't just ready to inherit the farm, they're planning for the future. But he does have hard decisions in front of him.
Perhaps the hardest decision is sitting untouched in the middle of the table; the dairy. Not only is it near and dear to Abe and Elaine's hearts, but it also fits in beautifully with their crop rotations and machinery lineup. But cows also demand people, twice a day, every day. Abe and Elaine have covered that load for decades. Jordan can't be in three places at once, and Stephanie didn't sign up to milk cows. Should they go with robots or hire foreign labor?
''I know exactly what I would like to do if I was his age but that doesn't tell me what he wants to do,'' Abe says. ''Now that we're moving into the formal planning stage, we want to hear about how he wants things to go. Who will handle the workload? There are three of us sharing it right now but ten years from now there's a pretty good chance there's only going to be one of us.''
''There's opportunity everywhere if you want to work,'' Elaine says. ''But you can't sit back and expect it to happen.'' ‡
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