Farm Law and Ag Law Blog

YOUNG FARMERS SHOULD MANDATE TRANSITION PLAN AND AVOID NFL This week I am told there are 50,000+ FFA members in Indianapolis for their yearly convention.   I find it fitting to write this article about younger farmers who are the next generation and what happens when the older generation fails to put together a farm transition plan.   Without a transition plan, I believe there is a 90% chance the next generation goes to the NFL, which stands for N ot F arming L ong.   (yes, I coined this and take credit for it)   Before I discuss this further, let’s look at a few things. 1.       First, no one ever keeps score in farming.   What I mean is that when a son or daughter returns to the farm, no one keeps track of their hours, their input, their monetary contribution, or so forth.   As the years go by, no one is able to remember what all the young farmer contributed to the operation, especially the nonfarm siblings.   Then, at distribution time, the dreaded “fair is equal” mental

LEAVING ADEQUATE "REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE" FOR CROP INSURANCE CLAIM This fall we have snow on crops in North Dakota, wet in the mid west, a hurricane down south, flooding along the eastern seaboard....all this will keep crop adjusters busy.  Perhaps too busy, in that it may be difficult for farmers to get adjusters on scene in a timely manner.  This means farmers may be back trying to harvest what they can before an adjuster can get there.  In these circumstances, it could be  critical  you leave an adequate "representative sample" of the crop, depending on the circumstances.  Essentially, a representative sample is an amount of the crop left in the field that adequately represents what the condition of the field was as a whole.   It allows the crop insurance company to derive a yield for the entire field based off of strips left by the farmer. What the heck is that, you may ask?  Good question.   The exact definition is contained in the crop ins

               Crop insurance plays an ever increasing role in modern farming.  However, like any safety net, crop insurance can be wrought with holes.   Over the years I’ve seen producers have their claims denied for many different reasons.   Often times these reasons are really no fault of the producer.   Simply stated, the federal crop insurance rules are very complex and can be unforgiving.                  Generally, when a producer believes they have a claim, they call up their agent.   The agent then submits a claim and at some point an adjuster is assigned to the case.   The adjuster comes out to the farm and evaluates the crop, measures bins, and so forth.   Although the adjuster should be well versed in the procedures, sometimes such is not the case.   We had a case a few years ago where the producer had frost kill the corn before it reached maturity.   The producer wanted to have the corn salvaged for silage.   The adjuster informed the producer that strips would hav