Discovering Resilience: A Legal Workshop for Farmers and Ranchers (Spring 2025)

Farmers and ranchers: Ever wonder if your farm is at risk because of a lurking legal problem? Do you wish you knew where to turn for the answers?

Those answers aren’t always easy to come by — especially for the most innovative, direct-to-consumer farmers. Discovering Resilience is a legal workshop designed just for you. This workshop empowers farmers and ranchers with the legal knowledge and skills you need to resolve legal vulnerabilities. You’ll walk away from this five-session, highly interactive, and producer-focused workshop ready to implement your own legal action plan and find legal answers with confidence. Plus, you’ll have a group of fellow producers to keep you on track.

Discover the 10 legal best practices in 5 core areas of farm law

Including Business Structures, Insurance, Employment Law, Land Leasing and Purchasing, & Diversification (value-added and agritourism).

Answer key legal questions for your farm or ranch:

• How do I write an effective lease?
• Should I form an LLC, S corporation, or neither?
• What about hosting interns or working with volunteers; is that legal?
• How should I manage the risks of guests getting injured when they visit my operation?

The most hands-on farm law workshop you’ll find:

• Develop your farm’s legal resilience, engage with your peers, and tackle real-life questions in weekly online meetings (120 minutes) led by legal educators.
• Create your own farm law action plan through interactive and practical exercises.
• Gain skills in effective communication so you can be your own best advocate.
• Build legal competence and confidence with guided discovery between weekly course meetings, including videos and online content.

Requirements

You are currently a farmer or rancher, or you have a strong business plan.

You have internet access able to sustain an online meeting with video.

You are available at the scheduled workshop meeting times:

• Tuesday, March 4th, 11am to 1pm Central Time: Farm Law as Your Creative Power
• Tuesday, March 11th, 11am to 1pm Central Time: Organize Your Farm Business for Legal Success
• Tuesday, March 18th, 11am to 1pm Central Time: Growing a Legally Resilient Workforce
• Tuesday, March 25th, 11am to 1pm Central Time: Access Farmland with Legal Confidence
• Tuesday, April 1st, 11am to 1pm Central Time: Diversify Farm Enterprises Without Adding Legal Risk

What Producers Are Saying:

“This workshop provides the tools for you to better advocate for yourself and your business and demystifies law documents and makes them accessible for us to use to feel more sure about the present and the future. It also allows for practicing clear communication and creating written documents as a way to assist with and guide responding to issues when they come up.” – Michelle Week, Good Rain Farm

“I felt like this workshop really met my current needs/challenges. I really liked the combination of pre-meeting videos/activities and live information sharing and group activities. The Action Plan workbook is great. There was also plenty of time for questions.” – Libby Reed, Orange Star Farm

“If you want to protect your business and learn about the creative power you hold to navigate the system, then you should take this class.” – Yolimar Rivera Vázquez