Seventy percent of the farmland in the United States will be transferred to the next generation within 15 years. Unfortunately, many of these farms will transfer without good estate plans.

Do you plant to pass your property to your heirs or to someone else? Either way, an orderly and cost-effective approach is the most appropriate way.

To help farm families learn how to get started in developing an estate plan to assure a property will be transferred to the correct person, a two-day Farm Estate Planning workshop has been planned for Jan. 21 and Feb. 4. Both sessions will be held at 9:30 a.m. at Brown's Country Kitchen in Portersville.

The Jan. 21 program will take a look at the following topics: "Getting Your Estate Plan Started," "Farm Viability - Can the Next Generation Survive," "Family Issues of a Farm Transfer," and "Property Transfer Methods."

The Feb. 4 program will take a look at these topics: "Tax Aspects of Estate Planning," "The Role of the Financial Planner," and a discussion on working with your attorney.

The programs will be presented by experts in the respective areas of discussion.

Registration deadline for this program is Jan. 18. The registration fee is $25 per person and it covers refreshment breaks, lunch and materials for both days.

For a copy of the brochure and registration form, contact the Butler County Extension Office at 724-287-4761.

Forage is an important part of the diet of dairy cattle and other ruminant farm animals. Evaluating the quality of the forage being fed is important to insuring that farm animals are fed a diet that meets their nutritional needs for optimum production.There will be a workshop on forage quality on Jan. 31 at the LeRoy Bergbigler Dairy Farm east of Butler on Game Reserve Road (¼-mile north of Route 422). The program gets underway at 9:30 a.m. and should finish up by noon.Mercer County Extension Educator David Baver will lead the discussion on evaluating and trouble-shooting forages. There will also be a discussion on the economics of forage quality.Hands-on testing will also be available to those that bring a TMR sample to the workshop.There is no registration fee for this session. Call the extension office at 724-287-4761 or Kevin Fry at 724-548-3447 for more information.