During the period January through March 2002, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Office of Farmland Preservation (OFP) sponsored a survey of Virginia farmers, with the intent of determining how many Virginia farmers had plans for the transition of their farm businesses to the next generation of farmers. This survey was part of a larger strategy adopted by the National Farm Transition Network (NFTN) to develop conclusions about the state of farm retirement planning in the United States, Europe and Japan. The survey mechanism used for this study mirrored those used across the United States and in other countries as part of the larger NFTN initiative. The goal of these efforts was to create an international database on farm succession planning from which policy recommendations could be developed to increase opportunities for successful farm business transition.