Farm Law and Ag Law Blog

                                 This past week Congress was actually able to agree on something and the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 was passed.  The Act serves to raise the current debt limit for Chapter 12 from 4.2 million to 10 million.  Some have bemoaned this as only helping “big farms’, whatever that is, but in an era where a combine can approach a half million dollars, many smaller or medium sized farms found themselves up against the previous debt limit.   Without the ability to utilize Chapter 12, instead of restructuring, the famer is generally liquidating.             In helping many farm clients over the past year who have been experiencing financial difficulties, I am simply amazed at the inability of some lending institutions to work with the farmer who is experi...

(Authors Note:    This article will be a multi part series that discusses some of the challenges we are seeing due to the current farm economy and offers some thoughts and suggestions on action that can be taken.) Most of us know where the saying “canary in the coal mine” comes from.   Basically, canaries were used in mines from the late 1800s to detect gases, such as carbon monoxide. The gas is deadly to humans – and canaries alike – in large quantities, but canaries are much more sensitive to small amounts of the gas, and so will react more quickly than humans. I always envisioned that a miner would stick a canary in a bird cage down in the mine, and if they saw the canary drop over dead, then it was time to get out.   Boy was I wrong.   A device was actually invented (see above picture) that had a circular door that would be kept open and had a grill to prevent the canary escaping. Once the canary showed signs of carbon monoxide poisoning the door w...

In last month’s article we discussed whether or not the next generation can afford to take over the farming operation.   I received a lot of feedback on the article and one response stuck with me.   The question was posed, if the farm is not making ends meet now, how can it then be profitable to the next generation, especially being profitable enough for to bring in the next generation?              It was a very good question and had me thinking on a response for quite some time.   I will first lay out a disclaimer (we attorneys are good at doing such) and say that I am not a farm economist.   Nor am I versed in financial advising.   In addition, not every farm is going to be helped by what I write in this article, nor is what I write about a good fit for everyone.   I am merely going of off 14 years of law experience and having worked with hundreds and hundreds of farmers running just about every type of farm oper...

Nicole and husband Rafe Ward became sole proprietors of Eastman’s Antique Apples LLC in 2018. Since then, the couple has focused on the hard cider part of the business, not just selling apples. Today, their hard cider business, Forgotten Ciders LLC, distributes product on-site at 1068 W. Midland-Gratiot County Line Road in Wheeler, Mich., as well as at the Midland Farmers’ Market and bars, restaurants, and party stores across the state. Succession Planning Part 2: When creating a succession plan, farmers should think of ‘breaking the farm apart’ March 20, 2019  Category:  People ,  Crops by  Mitch Galloway | Farm News Media WHEELER — The paper signing is a blur now to Nicole Ward, who is a year removed from taking over a 14-acre apple orchard in Midland County. Yet, what isn’t blurry or fuzzy or grainy for the apple grower and cider maker from Wheeler, Mich., is the image of the white farmhouse — the one where her husband’s grandparents couldn’t l...

Farmers face another brutal year in 2019 March 8, 2019  Category:  Politics by  Farm News Media As farmers across the country prepare for the 2019 planting season, the one question on everyone’s minds seems to be: will the new Farm Bill provide an adequate safety net to see farm families through another brutal year? The  Wall Street Journal  and  Politico  have both reported on farm bankruptcies rising to the highest level in at least 10 years. Asked about these troubling reports, House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) said, “I have been saying for a year people are nervous.” Meanwhile, Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) noted the Farm Bill can help farmers “but we need price recovery.” House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Mike Conaway (R-TX) may have been the canary in the coalmine on this question, arguing throughout the Farm Bill process that the safety net provisions of the Farm Bill must be stre...

In the not so distant past, economics played a lesser role in farm succession planning.      Let’s face it, with 7 dollar corn and 15 dollar beans, their generally was ample money to bring in the next generation into the farming operation and/or have the next generation buy out the older generation.   Now, with prices that are break even or below, economics play a much greater role.                The question becomes how do we ensure the next generation can financially afford to take over the farm?   I was recently asked how does a farm family pass on a farm if the next generation cannot afford it.   We all know it is next to impossible for someone to break into farming due to the capital costs of land, machinery, and so forth.   So, how do we expect the next farming generation to do the same?             ...

‘This One Here Is Gonna Kick My Butt’—Farm Belt Bankruptcies Are Soaring Trade disputes over agriculture add pain to low commodity prices that have been grinding down American farmers for years Note:  This is an article that ran in the Wall Street Journal on February 7, 2019. I felt that it did a good job encompassing most of what farmers are dealing with...low prices, bankruptcies, depression, suicide, etc.   A wave of bankruptcies is sweeping the U.S. Farm Belt as trade disputes add pain to the low commodity prices that have been grinding down American farmers for years. Throughout much of the Midwest, U.S. farmers are filing for chapter 12 bankruptcy protection at levels not seen for at least a decade, a Wall Street Journal review of federal data shows. Bankruptcies in three regions covering major farm states last year rose to the highest level in at least 10 years. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, ...