This paper outlines the development of a systemic learning and researching approach to the farm transfer process. The key ideas that have informed this are systems thinking, experiential learning, action researching, and the technique of Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA). These ideas were applied to a research project conducted with people from the farming community of Tottenham-Nyngan and the service towns of Dubbo, Forbes and Parkes in the Central West of New South Wales (N.S.W.) The authors' field work and educational practice is based upon the desire to aid people in better understanding their situations, and improving their ability to take action.