Farm Commons

Latest Episodes:

Episode 48: Hiring Workers Through the H-2A Visa Program Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows US farm employers to hire workers from other countries to fill labor gaps on their farm or ranch. It can be an effective option for some farmers, as farmworkers are increasingly difficult to find domestically. But the program comes with additional costs, legal obligations, and ethical considerations that interested farmers need to understand. Tune in to learn if H-2A is a viable solution for your business!

Additional Resources:

Is H-2A a Solution for Your Farm? (video)

Farmers' Guide to In-Kind Wages

Farmers' Guide to Hiring Obligations

Episode 47: Crop Insurance Options for Diversified Farms and Ranches Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

As the climate becomes more unpredictable, crop insurance becomes more valuable and necessary. For diversified producers, however, it hasn’t been easy to find. The good news is there is a new crop insurance option out there just for you! In this episode we’ll get you up to speed on Whole Farm Revenue Protection crop insurance and the new Micro Farm policy that is available to farmers and ranchers nationwide. Executive Director and attorney Rachel Armstrong brings us through the Micro Farm crop insurance policy, helping you decide whether it’s a good option for protecting your crops and value added goods.

The survey mentioned in the introduction closed on 11/14/22. Thank you for participating!

Recommended Resources:

Micro Farm Factsheet

RMA Cost Estimator

This material is funded in partnership by USDA, Risk Management Agency, under award number RMA22CPT0012392.

Episode 46: Avoiding Discriminatory Questions During an Interview Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

Unintentional or intentional discrimination can happen on farms and ranches, especially in the hiring process, but it’s something everyone has the power to manage and avoid. In this episode, we zoom in on avoiding discrimination during interviews with prospective employees. Staff attorney Chloe Johnson walks us through some of the dos and don'ts of interviewing, including questions to avoid.

Further resources:

Read the Farm Employment Law Essentials for your state
Take Farm Commons’ Advanced Farm Employment Law Course to build holistic, sustainable legal solutions for your farm’s employment program. Register at www.farmcommons.org.

Episode 45: Why Some Farms Pay Wages as Salary Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

Paying employees via salary, rather than an hourly wage, can be an enticing option for some farm business owners. It’s a way to avoid costs and simplify payroll. But this approach requires legal consideration. In this episode, we explain how paying employees via salary can be a strategic option for farmers and ranchers who are required to pay overtime. Under federal law, agricultural laborers are exempt from receiving overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a week. However, as a farmer you might find yourself in a situation where you lose that exemption and do, in fact, owe overtime pay to employees. In that case, salary may be a strategic way to fairly compensate employees while keeping costs low.

Do you owe your employees overtime pay? Can salarying your employees help your business? Listen to this episode to find out!

Further resources:

Read the Farm Employment Law Essentials for your state
Register for our Advanced Farm Employment Law course to build a sustainable employment program at your farm

This work is supported by the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN), grant no. 2021-70035-35372/project accession no. 1027099, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Episode 44: Farmland Leasing 101 Mar 13, 2022

Show notes

Leasing farmland is exciting. Getting onto farmland to begin or expand your farm business is a significant opportunity. However, the actual leasing process can be a bear — but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, staff attorney Sarah Vaile breaks down what a lease is, how it functions, and the creative power you have to shape how it works. We also dive into New Hampshire farmland leasing laws as an example of how state law applies. Farmers and ranchers in all 50 states will walk away from this podcast with a greater understanding of the legal mechanics for farmland leasing, whether for the short term or the long haul.

Recommended resources:

Checklist of questions to address in your farm lease
Sample Annotated Long-Term Agroforestry Lease Agreement (useful for short term leases too!)

Episode 43: Unlock the Potential of a Farm Employee Handbook Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we dive into the surprising efficiencies and improvements that farm employee handbooks can provide for your farm or ranch operation, featuring New Hampshire state specific examples. Whether you’re interested in establishing work expectations for bad weather, equitably managing requests for days off, or creating a disciplinary procedure, the farm employee handbook is a tool for it all. They set reasonable, realistic expectations up front, for everyone. They guard against discrimination. They manage unemployment insurance claims. The farm employee handbook is a multi-functional tool that will increase the legal resilience of your work team. Tune in to learn how and why.

Suggested Resources:

Episode 42: Avoiding Discrimination in Hiring and Firing on New Hampshire Farms Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we explore a hard topic in employment law — discrimination in hiring and firing on the farm, specific to New Hampshire law. While many farmers would never consider their employment practices discriminatory, the truth is that legal discrimination can creep in on even the most well intentioned farms. This is because there are personal characteristics that are protected by law. These include federally protected characteristics of age, health condition, race, religion, ethnic identity, sex and gender, as well as New Hampshire protected characteristics of smoking and crime and domestic violence victims. If an employment decision is made on the basis of these characteristics, even if indirectly, there is the potential for a legal claim of discrimination. Tune in to learn how to identify and avoid (accidental) discrimination in employment law on your farm so that you can manage your workforce with confidence.

Episode 41: Choosing a Business Structure Together Sep 22, 2021

Show notes

Your business structure can be a revolutionary tool for organizing towards farm goals, and this is especially the case when farming together in pursuit of meeting shared needs and goals. In this episode we explore top business structure options for folks farming together: the corporation, limited liability company, and the cooperative. We discuss the basic format and responsibilities of each, and provide key legal considerations to help you and your partners make the best decision together.

Recommended resources:

Episode 40: Farm Couples and Managing Stress through Paperwork Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

Many romantic relationships and marriages are founded on a mutual admiration and desire for a farming lifestyle. Spouses farming together can live out shared values and goals through their work. Even where one person is the primary farmer, spouses often get pulled in to help out. Farming with a spouse, whether a true co-ownership or the occasional help, can make things more fun while navigating learning experiences and celebrating successes together. Of course, there’s two sides to every coin. Farming together can introduce new challenges, as people have different work ethics, communication styles, and expectations, as well as different appetites for legal risk. These differences can cause abundant stress, and managing stress for farming couples is essential. When not addressed, stress can destroy not just the couple/marriage, but the farm business too. In this episode, we discuss the powerful role of paperwork in managing farm stress through 3 key paperwork processes that you can begin implementing right away: (1) creating pre-set agendas for regularly scheduled meetings, (2) compensation paperwork, and (3) job descriptions.

Episode 39: Farming with Family – Getting in and getting out Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

When farming with family, whether relatives, spouses, or both, there are 3 key legal topics to discuss together that will set the stage for how the farm business evolves as family members enter (through marriage or otherwise) and exit (via career change, divorce, disability, or just because): (1) decision making, (2) role and responsibilities, and (3) ownership vs. employment. In this episode, we cover all this and more (including the role of a little something called a marital property agreement), while walking you through key reflections and action steps for creating paperwork processes that will set the business and your family relationships up for success.

Recommended resources:

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