Farm Commons

This is an extra special episode where we explore alternative land access models with Ian McSweeney, Director of the Agrarian Trust. Ian has extensive experience in environmental education, real estate, farmland preservation, connecting farmers to land, and fundraising to support agrarian economies. In our discussion we cover the ins and outs of land trusts – what they are and what they do, agricultural easements – how they work and how they differ from conservation easements, and how the AT’s Agrarian Commons model of farmland access works on the state level to secure land holdings for agricultural use in perpetuity at an affordable rate for farmers. Of course, transfer of property means transfer of money, so we also touch on the fundraising and revenue generation aspects that makes the Agrarian Commons model a well-run reality. Big questions we explore are: why work with a land trust to preserve or access farmland? And, how do we navigate the creativity AND limitations of easements on farmland? If you’re la

Navigating land access in the U.S. system of white property ownership that is legally focused on wealth generation and preservation is a hard row to hoe, but there are non-traditional strategies farmers and farm advocates pursue every day. Of course, with those strategies come legal considerations and in this episode we explore the legal mechanics at the intersection of donating land, crowdfunding money, and cooperatively purchasing land. Tune in to learn how the law weighs into these strategies and understand how to manage legal risk, while creating space to question and challenge the current paradigm of land ownership in this country. Resources mentioned: Workshop registration: Practicalities and Realities in Land Law: A Workshop for Ag Service People Resource pathway: What makes for a “good” farmland lease from a legal perspective? Resource pathway: I am joining forces with other farmers/ranchers on a new venture. How does this impact business structure decisions? On Private Property by Eric Freyfogle Land

In this episode, we get into the subject of gleaning — the practice of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields after they’ve been commercially harvested in order to distribute that food to schools, food banks, and other recipients. This food recovery work weaves together important principles of  food access and environmental sustainability, bringing about deep connections through community engagement around a good cause on the farm. However, to keep a good thing going, we need to manage our legal risks and farmers know that. We often get questions like: Are gleaners volunteers? Can gleaners receive payment, whether cash or produce? Can a for-profit business host gleaners? These questions highlight the many employment laws at play in this realm of farm law. The good news is we discuss all these questions and more so that you can understand how to manage legal risks of gleaning programs on your farm so that this good work can continue into the future. Resources mentioned: National Gleaning Project Associ

In this episode, we explore a hard topic in employment law — discrimination in hiring and firing on the farm. While many farmers would never consider their employment processes discriminatory, the truth is that legal discrimination can creep in on even the most well intentioned farms. This is because there are personal characteristics, such as age, health, race, ethnic identity, sex and gender related conditions, that are protected by law and if an employment decision is made on the basis of those characteristics, even if indirectly, there is the potential for a legal claim of discrimination. Tune in to learn how to avoid “accidental” discrimination in employment law on your farm so that you can manage your workforce with confidence. Resources mentioned: Avoiding Discrimination in Employment for Farm and Ranch Businesses: The Federal Guide for farmers and ranchers in the U.S. For farmers and ranchers in Wisconsin For farmers and ranchers in Minnesota  

In this episode, we explore Farm Commons’ new membership program — why we have one, how it works, and how to join. You’ll hear insights into how our legal education work as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization has traditionally been funded over the past 8 years, and how the new membership program allows us to grow into our deeper goals of farmer accountability, long term relationship building, and increased access to farm law education across the nation. “Podcast intro” from Royalty Free by Kevin MacLeod. Released: 2020.

In this episode, we explain and explore the many changes we’ve made to farm law education at Farm Commons in response to limitations of the global pandemic. We dive deep into our core mission of empowering farming communities to resolve your own farm business law issues in an ecosystem of support, and how that mission guided us in thinking creatively outside of the “Zoom” box to create interactive, engaging, and actionable farm law workshops and a brand new website! “Podcast intro” from Royalty Free by Kevin MacLeod. Released: 2020.    

In this episode, we cover three key strategies for managing the risks of contracting COVID-19 in the course of your farm business. As folks move indoors this winter and gather for holiday festivities, the likelihood of COVID cases increasing is high. If you haven’t gotten COVID yourself, you might know someone who did, and there’s of course the risk of you getting it as the days go on and the case numbers rise. To help you manage that risk, we offer key information about disability insurance and workers’ compensation options for covering lost wages and doctors visits if you’ve been exposed to or contract COVID. You’ll also learn about key considerations, both moral and legal, for operating your farm business with the knowledge that you’ve been exposed or have COVID but are asymptomatic. Don’t worry, we share good news too that we think will put your mind, at least part of it, at ease. Keep hanging in there! CFAP 2 Tutorial Farmers’ Legal Memo on Paid Sick and Family Leave “Podcast intro” from Royalty Free by

In this episode, Rich Lavigne, FC’s Staff Attorney for Special Projects, shares key highlights of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program round 2 of funding. Hint: more specialty crops and farm products are eligible for COVID relief payments! Tune in to learn how payments are structured and how this might be a useful support to pursue for your farm business. The deadline to apply for CFAP 2 is December 11th, 2020. If you’re interested in applying, tune in now and get your paperwork ready! Also be sure to attend Rich’s indepth free webinar on CFAP 2 Thursday November 12th, 2020 at 3:00pm CDT/4:00pm EST. “Podcast intro” from Royalty Free by Kevin MacLeod. Released: 2020.

Show Notes: Farmers have so much power to create the farmland access situations, business partnerships, and customer relationships of your dreams IF you take the time to talk things through, including the tough stuff. Hard conversations are necessary – there’s no getting around it. It’s the elephant in the room that we all know is there and its presence grows as we tip toe around or avoid having those hard conversations. Now, we know that’s easier said than done so in this episode we share Four Questions to Ask before Tough Conversations. This is the first episode in our new series on Tips for Tough Conversations, and we’re excited to share more tools and frameworks with you coming up soon. Resources mentioned in this episode: Our Universal Needs from the Center for Non-Violent Communication Four Questions to Ask Yourself Before Important Conversations by Oren Jay Sofer Say What You Mean by Oren Jay Sofer Intro Music: “Easy Lemon” from Royalty Free by Kevin MacLeod. Released: 2012.

In this episode, Rich Lavigne, our Staff Attorney for Special Projects, shares innovaitve hiring tools farmers can utilize to meet their labor challeneges — hint: these tools are business structures! Tune into our conversation about the Innovative Labor Models project in collaboartion with New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, out of Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, to hear about the potential of collaborative hiring models, how they can address labor challenges farmers face AND align with their core values, as well as so much more.   Intro Music: “Easy Lemon” from Royalty Free by Kevin MacLeod. Released: 2012.