As America’s farming landscape continues to evolve, a pressing question looms over rural communities and financial advisory circles alike: how can the next generation of farmers and financial advisors successfully inherit, manage, and grow the businesses built by their predecessors? Recent developments across both the agricultural and financial sectors highlight the urgency of succession planning and the creative solutions emerging to tackle this generational challenge.
According to recent reporting by Connect Money, Cambridge Investment Research has made a strategic minority investment in The AmeriFlex Group, a hybrid Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), with the explicit goal of scaling AmeriFlex’s advisor succession platform, SuccessionFully. This move, announced on January 15, 2026, underscores the rapidly growing need for robust succession strategies in the financial advisory industry, where a wave of retirements threatens to upend client relationships and firm stability.
“Strengthening our partnership with Cambridge enhances our ability to support advisors planning for retirement or long-term continuity,” said Thomas Goodson, founder and CEO of The AmeriFlex Group. He added, “The scale of advisor retirements facing the industry represents a real succession crisis, and too many advisors are left navigating that transition without aligned support or transparent options. SuccessionFully was built to address that gap by giving advisors control over one of the most important decisions of their careers.”
Since July 2025, when Cambridge became AmeriFlex’s broker-dealer partner, AmeriFlex has added 11 advisors and more than $1 billion in client assets, a testament to the rising demand for structured, advisor-centric succession solutions as founders age and valuations climb. The investment aims to expand SuccessionFully into a comprehensive, single-source solution for advisors facing retirement, continuity, and ownership transitions. Cambridge’s capital infusion is set to support broader succession-focused education, enhanced deal-structuring, valuation support, a deeper marketplace of succession opportunities, and more robust continuity planning tools.
Despite the influx of capital and resources, AmeriFlex will remain majority advisor-owned and independently operated after the transaction, with its leadership team retaining full strategic control. The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed, but the move signals a broader industry trend: succession planning is no longer a back-burner issue, but a critical component of long-term business viability.
But this isn’t just a story about financial advisors. Across rural America, farmers are wrestling with similar questions—and, in many cases, even higher stakes. According to a feature published on January 16, 2026, U.S. farmers are increasingly diversifying their operations to increase financial opportunity, build resilience, and secure farm succession for the next generation. The motivation? For some, it’s the razor-thin margins on traditional commodity crops. For others, it’s the desire to bring in family members without sacrificing economic viability.
Harold Wilken, an Illinois farmer, recalls a turning point when his son Ross was just 12 years old. “We’re living proof that organics can feed the world,” Wilken told reporters. He explained that bringing the next generation into the business—and paying them a living wage—can be nearly impossible on commodity margins alone. “There’s a lot of next-gen farmers that live as paupers.”
Wilken’s journey toward organic farming began after a neighbor offered him a lease on 30 acres, with the stipulation that organic production would be used. The decision was catalyzed by personal tragedy and a desire for change. “It was an interesting conversation with my banker. In today’s world, with the banking regulations, I don’t know that we could do it,” Wilken said. “It takes a few years to get where it’s profitable.”
For Wilken, the shift to organic was only the first step. In 2017, he and his family launched Janie’s Organics, starting with just five products. Today, the business offers 44 products, sourcing about 80% of their grains from their 4,200-acre farm and supplementing with grains from states like Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, and Montana. The pandemic forced another pivot: when wholesale sales of large bags dried up, the Wilkens shifted to selling small bags directly to consumers, capitalizing on the surge in home baking. The strategy paid off, and as the wholesale market rebounded post-pandemic, Janie’s Organics became an economic driver in the tiny town of Danforth, Illinois, employing 32 dedicated workers.
Kate Lambert, senior vice president of marketing for Farm Credit Services Financial, encourages farmers to look beyond traditional crops and cattle for new revenue streams. She points to options like direct-to-consumer businesses, agritourism, and farm lodging. Her own Missouri family found success with a pumpkin patch, which fit around their primary farming schedule. But she cautions, “Don’t hear me say this is easy.”
Lambert identifies four main reasons for adding a new enterprise: tapping into different market opportunities, chasing higher margins, expanding stakeholder skills, and encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset in the next generation. The hurdles, however, are formidable: time constraints, seasonality, weather, managing finances, and securing resources and financing. Setting clear goals and budgets is crucial, she advises.
In Nebraska, the Daniels family is also reinventing their farm’s future. With changing weather patterns and the rising costs of H-2A labor, the family’s produce business has grown riskier. Enter FLAG, or Farm Labor Ag Group—a labor-contracting business aimed at providing services like rogueing and detasseling to seed producers and other farmers. “We want to move forward and do something that’s more financially secure,” Kelly Daniels-Jackson explained. “Love for doing what you do can only take you so far.” She hopes FLAG will secure the family business for another generation, even admitting, “I honestly at this point would not want my children to come back to the farm, but if we get this going… .”
For Ross Wilken, the switch to organic and the expansion into milling has made a tangible difference. “With this, there’s more money per acre, and there’s no question about it.” His father Harold, reflecting on his own journey, jokes about the days when he farmed half the year and worried about markets the rest. “If it doesn’t pay the farmer,” he says, “he doesn’t need to be there.”
Whether in the world of financial advice or in the fields of the Midwest, the message is clear: succession planning is no longer optional, and the next generation’s future depends on innovative thinking, strategic partnerships, and the willingness to adapt. The stories of AmeriFlex, the Wilkens, and the Daniels families offer a glimpse into the creative solutions and tough choices facing those who hope to pass on more than just land or a book of business—but a legacy worth inheriting.