The Transitions series, as featured in Successful Farming magazine, features stories about farm families that are transitioning management to a new generation.

Pam and Cris Kincaid are facing one of the most daunting challenges a farm couple can encounter. Yet, it is also their dream come true. Two of their children are preparing to join the farming operation.

Joel Stola started working for neighbors Calmer and Clara Johnson on their Minnesota farm when he was just 13. After college, he pursued other opportunities, but when it was time for the Johnsons to retire, Joel jumped at the chance to take over.

Once upon a time, a dairy princess grew up to become the fourth-generation owner of her family's dairy farm. Unlike the fairy tale world, though, Kimberly Fesko is proving her pedigree through real-world challenges.

In 1949 there were 49 dairy farms in Belchertown, Massachusetts. Today, the Austin Brothers Valley Farm is the sole survivor. The 130-acre farm is at a crossroads, as are Billy and Roxanne Austin, who find themselves beginning farmers in their 50s.

When Kyle Barlow graduated from Purdue University, he headed home to farm. But unlike most other ag school graduates, there was nobody waiting for him at the family farm.

Pennsylvania dairy farmer Wayne Harpster started planning his farm's transition early, setting his exit strategy in motion in 1992. Now he has time for fly fishing while his three sons run the farm.

The 80-year-old barn on Rick Rosenboom's farm in northeastern Illinois is a testament to the staying power of four generations of his family. Like the old barn, their family farm is evolving.

Edible beans and five other crops keep the Juliuson family of Hope, North Dakota, busy. Jeff, who is starting to farm on his own, also farms with father Alan and brother Lucas.

For the Sandal family of Howes, South Dakota, agreeing on a transition plan for the ranch isn't easy ... but nothing worth having ever is. Despite the difficulties they've faced in reaching a decision, they continue working together to find a solution.

When you've been part of a business for 60 years its hard to turn over the reins - even to your grown children. Betsy and Larry Luce began transitioning their Sugarbush Farm family operation to their sons in 2003 after years of careful planning.

The Kunz family has farmed near Elmwood, Nebraska, for generations. Son Ken is happy to continue the tradition with his father, Dale. But expansion is proving difficult for these mid-size farmers as land and equipment prices increase.

In 1986, Mark and Brian Watte purchased equipment and leased 880 acres of farmland from their parents. Almost 20 years later, the brothers have begun contemplating when and how the farm will make the transition to the next generation.

Dan and Muriel French, who run a 155-cow dairy farm in Minnesota, have found a way to help beginners get a foot in the door while staffing their dairy with trustworthy helpers. Their proteges build a dairy herd of their own while working for the Frenches.

Mark Rogers has wanted to be a farmer for as long as he can remember. Now he's the third generation of his family to farm the rich, black soils of north central Iowa. Yet, crop production is just a supporting factor for the farm's main moneymaker: hogs.

Jerry Ebbert is the third generation to harvest crops against a backdrop of the Appalachian foothills of St. Clairsville, Ohio. He reinvented the family business, just as his dad and grandfather did.

Dave and Helen Forgey have gradually brought an unrelated couple into their operation over the past decade. Scott and Darla Foerg now share the seasonal grazing dairy with the older couple as equal partners.

Unlike many farmers who never retire, John and Margaret Sumption are following a plan to shift ownership and control of their South Dakota grain and cattle farm to five sons who began working into the business in the early 1990s.

The addition of an agritourism venture is assisting the fifth generation of Shryocks -- cousins Brett and Mike -- to start taking over the farm operation from their fathers, who began planning for the transition over a decade ago.

If Matt Walther had taken his dad's advice, he wouldn't be farming today. Dale Walther finally came around to the idea of his son farming, and today the two have separate -- but overlapping -- operations.