Month: January 2017

THE NEBRASKA BEGINNING FARMER & RANCHER NETWORK Farm Succession Series A Workshop on Resources & Issues for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Programs & Transition

/ nelegalaidfarm / Leave a comment

workshopsYou are welcome to attend a free workshop on federal and state programs that support beginning farmers and ranchers, and on some of the legal tools and issues that may affect beginners and their families. The workshop will be held in Curtis, NE on February 17, 2017 at NCTA in the auditorium.  The workshop runs from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.  There is no charge for the workshop.  To register (and for questions) call the Rural Response Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.

The workshop will cover beginning farmer loan programs, the Nebraska beginning farmer tax credit, understanding and using lease arrangements, Farm Service Agency livestock disaster programs and several transition and estate issues relevant to beginners.

Joe Hawbaker, Agricultural Law attorney, with Hawbaker Law Office, Omaha, NE

Amy Swoboda, Farm Law attorney, Legal Aid of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

This workshop is made possible by the Nebraska Network for Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, the Farm and Ranch Project of Legal Aid of Nebraska, USDA-FSA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s Next Gen, Nebraska Farmers Union Foundation, and Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

USDA is making it easier to transfer land to the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

/ nelegalaidfarm / Leave a comment

Key points from the USDA’s announcement concerning the early termination of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts.

  • The goal is to make it easier for the next generation of farmers and ranchers, including family members, to acquire land.
  • USDA technical teams will determine which acres are ready to be productive with minimal impact on overall conservation efforts.
  • If land is determined to be ready a landowner can terminate their CRP contract early without being required to repay all previous payments plus interest.
  • This policy waives repayment requirements if the land is being transferred to a beginning farmer or rancher through sale or lease with the option to buy.
  • By clearing some of these CRP acres from the programs 24 million acre cap the USDA will be able to enroll other land with a higher conservation value.

For more information and details on this early termination opportunity visit www.fsa.usda.gov/crp or read the complete announcement at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/state-offices/Nebraska/news-releases/2016/stnr_ne_20161230_rel_408.