Farm business planning, loan programs, borrower’s rights, beginning farmer programs, Debtor/Creditor Law, succession and estates and Much More….

Farmers and ranchers are invited to attend a FREE clinic.  The clinics are one-on-one, not group sessions, and are confidential.  The legal and financial clinic gives you a chance to meet with an experienced Ag law attorney and farm financial counselor.  These clinic staff specialize in legal and economic issues related to farming and ranching, including business planning, estate and transition planning, farm loan programs, debtor/creditor law, and other relevant matters.  Here is an opportunity to obtain an experienced outside opinion on issues that may be affecting your farm or ranch.  Bring your questions! 

PLEASE NOTE: For the time being the clinics are being conducted as conference calls or as Zoom meetings.  It is therefore possible to attend a clinic from any location in the state. In-person clinics are expected to resume in the near future, at which time locations will be announced. 

To sign up for a clinic or for more information, call Michelle at the Nebraska Rural Response Hotline: 1-800-464-0258.

December Clinic Dates:

• Wednesday, December 2nd
• Wednesday, December 9th
• Wednesday, December 16th

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture and Legal Aid of Nebraska sponsor the farm finance clinics.

Farm business planning, loan programs, borrower’s rights, beginning farmer programs, Debtor/Creditor Law, succession and estates and Much More….

Farmers and ranchers are invited to attend a FREE clinic.  The clinics are one-on-one, not group sessions, and are confidential.  The legal and financial clinic gives you a chance to meet with an experienced Ag law attorney and farm financial counselor.  These clinic staff specialize in legal and economic issues related to farming and ranching, including business planning, estate and transition planning, farm loan programs, debtor/creditor law, and other relevant matters.  Here is an opportunity to obtain an experienced outside opinion on issues that may be affecting your farm or ranch.  Bring your questions! 

PLEASE NOTE: For the time being the clinics are being conducted as conference calls or as Zoom meetings.  It is therefore possible to attend a clinic from any location in the state. In-person clinics are expected to resume in the near future, at which time locations will be announced. 

To sign up for a clinic or for more information, call Michelle at the Nebraska Rural Response Hotline: 1-800-464-0258.

November Clinic Dates:

• Wednesday, November 4th
• Wednesday, November 11th
• Wednesday, November 18th

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture and Legal Aid of Nebraska sponsor the farm finance clinics.

The NextGen Tax Credit Program is a program administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture that seeks to help beginning farmers and ranchers establish a longer-term relationship with existing farmers and ranchers.

By using a tax incentive, the NextGen program hopes to increase the odds of turning beginning farmers/rancher into established farmers/ranchers.

To qualify as a beginning farmer/rancher, you must be a resident of Nebraska for at least six months, have less than $175,000 in net worth, must have farmed/ranched for less than 10 of the last 15 years, and meet certain education/experience and labor requirements. Furthermore, the owner of the land must be an individual or business entity that is eligible to receive the tax credit.

Benefits for the beginning farmer include: a three-year lease instead of year-to-year, up to $500 tax credit reimbursement for a required financial management class, and the beginning farmer may apply for the Personal Property Tax Exemption.

Benefits for the owner include a tax credit of 10% of the value of the cash rent, or 15% of the value of the share crop rent.

For more information, please see our handout, or contact Karla Bahm at 800.446.4071 or email at karla.bahm@nebraska.gov

To apply, please visit http://www.nextgen.nebraska.gov/

 

 

 

You are welcome to attend a free workshop on business succession and estate planning for farm and ranch owners, families and beginners.   The workshop will be held in St. Paul, (February 23, 2017) at the St. Paul Civic Center.  The workshop runs from 10:00 am to 2:30 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 is about farm and ranch business succession and family estate planning.  It will include a discussion of beginning farmer programs that can aid in succession planning.  The workshop should be useful for established farm and ranch owners, for their successors, and for beginners.  

Topics include:  stages of succession planning, contribution & compensation, balancing the interests of on-farm and off-farm heirs; the importance of communication, setting goals, assessing feasibility, and balancing intergenerational expectations and needs; beginning farmer loan and tax credit programs; the use of trusts, wills, life estate deeds and business entities (such as the limited liability company) in family estate and business succession planning;  legal tools for balancing the interests of successors and off-farm heirs; asset protection; taxation (federal transfer taxes, Nebraska inheritance tax, basis adjustment), and essential estate documents. 

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

Dave Goeller, Deputy Director, Northeast Center for Risk Management Education, UNL

 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, UNL Extension Howard Co, and a meal will be sponsored by Homestead Bank, Citizens Bank and Heritage Bank.

 Additional Location:  Beatrice, March 1^st 2017

You 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.