Every quarter, enjoy one of our popular legal webinars hosted especially for your community.
As an organization serving our nation’s farmers and ranchers, you help producers manage risk all the time. And with the converging crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, unpredictable environmental hurdles, devastating economic hardships, and ever-changing ag legislation, you know that even the savviest and most innovative agricultural professional sometimes needs support. We have your back which is why we designed this brand-new member benefit just for you: four annual, complimentary live webinars specifically for your agricultural community. Each webinar is 45 minutes with 15-minutes for Q&A and will be led by one of our legal educators.
Here’s how it works: With just three quick steps, you’ll be on your way to excellent, quality programming on farm law just for your community.
First: Choose one webinar per quarter to fit within your current educational programming: Currently, we offer nine different webinar topics to choose from. Check out the list and descriptions below to see what four webinars will help your community build their resilience:
- (New starting Nov. 2024!) Farm Succession Basics: Many farm succession plans are based on a few basic legal tools: a will, a trust, and/or a business entity. What is the difference between these tools, and what can each of them achieve for the incoming and outgoing farmer? This webinar explains in plain language the legal role of each of these tools. We’ll also explore how folks combine them to achieve a range of succession goals. Farmers will leave with a grasp of which tools may match their needs and how to take the next step towards a complete succession plan.
- (New for 2024!) Farm Property Insurance Basics: Running a farm or ranch business often depends on buildings, equipment, vehicles, and supplies for day-to-day success. If these valuable resources are lost or damaged, it can be devastating to profitability. Different types of property insurance can help address this risk, but only if the farmer clearly understands how these products work. Does your operation have the coverage it needs? Get clear on what items on your operation you want covered from the perils that are of top concern to you with this webinar.
- Exploring H2A: The H-2A visa program makes it possible for farmers to bring in citizens of other countries for agricultural work in the United States. With a tight labor market, the visa program is experiencing a lot of growth – farmers who have never considered it before are taking a closer look. This program will help farmers assess whether H-2A might help address their labor shortage issues. We’ll also go over the extensive regulatory obligations that come with participation in this program. With human trafficking also on the rise, we’ll address key ways producers can guard against worker vulnerability in this program.
- Forming an LLC: If you or your producers are curious about the details of an LLC, you’re not alone! Most farmers choose the LLC as their preferred business structure. The good news is that forming one is quite simple. But at the same time, farmers and ranchers need to know a few keys to ensure they get the benefits they’re expecting from this entity. We’ll do a quick recap of why an LLC is a good risk management tool before going into how to form one, which best practices to implement after it’s formed, and regular obligations to keep the LLC in top legal shape. Even farmers who have had an LLC for years will learn some things about how to preserve their resilience.
- Food Safety Liability Basics: It’s every farmer or rancher’s worst nightmare: Someone claims to have gotten sick from the food they produced. No matter how safe the operation is, the risk is always there. The good news is there are ways to manage and mitigate the impacts of this risk. We’ll discuss the best practices every farmer or rancher can adopt to get a foothold in managing their food safety liability exposure.
- Business Structure Basics: Choosing the right business structure for a farm or ranch business shouldn’t be hard. In this webinar, producers will learn how to apply straightforward decision-making factors to your situation. We’ll walk through the tax advantages and business practices that make the most of your choice. A focus on preventing problems with good governance means whether you are just starting out or you’ve been on the land for a few decades; this webinar will help you chart next steps.
- Land Leasing Basics: Leasing farmland is so commonplace that landowners, farmers, and ranchers may not think twice about the lease itself… until things go wrong. Prevent problems with a strong lease while building a path to a resilient future. This online workshop will help you understand what a lease should include and how to put it in writing. Get started with the tools, knowledge, and skills you need to create a strong document that works for your needs, whether you are a landowner, rancher, or farmer.
- Farm Employment Law Basics: Farm employment law feels intimidating, but with just a few key rules and operating principles, the farm or ranch business can navigate this potential minefield with confidence. This webinar will teach the fundamentals of farm employment law, including classifying workers and the obligations of every farm employer. Folks will learn where they need to learn more and where they can sit back with confidence, no matter where they are in their farming journey.
- 5 Steps to Protect Your Farm, Legally Speaking: Are there a few key steps that provide a big impact when it comes to the farm or ranch’s protection from legal risks? We’re so glad you asked! Yes, there are, and every farm or ranch, no matter its size, location, or longevity, is in a great position to build resilience. Join us for a webinar that will build knowledge and confidence around essential farm law issues.
Second: Email our Communications Coordinator to schedule your webinars: Settled on your webinar decisions? Email bonita@farmcommons.org to schedule your one webinar per quarter. Please note, we need at least one month of lead time to schedule our educators and cannot offer webinars on Sundays or mornings before 7 AM EST. Need some flexibility? Let’s discuss how we can accommodate your team’s needs. We’ll also work with you to set up the webinar on your platform of choice- our educators can work with various platforms.
Each webinar above has 45 minutes of content followed by 15 minutes of question-and-answer time. We make sure your community gets what they need to move forward.
Lastly, market and host each webinar to your community. We make it easy! Once you’ve chosen a topic, we will email you a media kit that will help you promote and market the webinar to the producers and ag service professionals in your community. Whether you recruit via social media, newsletters, or old-fashioned email, we’ll help make sure your community knows about this exciting, interactive opportunity to learn the basics of farm law.
Want something that isn’t described here? Contact us– we will work with you to develop a custom proposal and budget.