MASSENA, Iowa — Joe and Kathy Clinton raised six children on their Cass County farm. They are heartened by the love those children (and their grandchildren) have for the land nestled in the rolling hills of southwest Iowa.

And it’s their hope that many more generations follow in their footsteps.

When the Tennis family of Sumner, in southeastern Illinois, was named the Illinois Farm Family of the year 10 years ago, they were active in their community and using conservation-minded farming practices. Mark and Marsha’s three children were teenagers.

The children have grown to become a chiropractor (Mackenzie), a teacher (Maran) and a farmer (Markus). While the family has expanded to include a boyfriend, fiancé, a wife and the first grandchild on the way, the Tennises still farm in Lawrence County with the same principles they were recognized for in 2011.

WESTBORO, Mo. — On a sunny early March day, a warm breeze drifted across the hills of Atchison County. The temperatures were pushing toward 70 degrees, but the biggest sign of spring’s impending arrival might have been inside the greenhouses of Hurst Greenery, where bright flowers and vegetables, perennials and annuals, were growing.

Blake and Julie Hurst started their northwest Missouri greenhouse business in the ’80s, and this busy March day showed they were far from finished with it.

KEOTA, Iowa — When kids are looking for cash, some parents will give a weekly allowance. Lance and Kerri Bell turned that idea on its head with their daughters.

Instead of an allowance, they gave each of their daughters an acre of land. The money from marketing or selling the crop grown on that acre would be theirs.

Melissa O’Rourke has spoken to farm groups all over Iowa on the issue of farm transition. But the conversation never really goes away, and it doesn’t necessarily get easier.

O’Rourke, an Iowa State University Extension farm management specialist in northeast Iowa and also a practicing attorney, says there are a few basic things to keep in mind when talking about farm transition.