The United States Bankruptcy Code contains a special bankruptcy chapter for family farmers with regular income. Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code allows family farmers to reorganize in a preferred way. For example, a family...more
There are many legal rules covering farms – rules that producers might not be aware of. A farm building may not be covered by standard insurance. Farm buildings are exempt from the state building code. And many standard...more
Agricultural bankruptcies present special and specific issues. The nature of the collateral and the seasonality of the business present a host of questions that need to get answered in order to preserve any value in the...more
Running a family-owned farm is not easy work under the best of economic circumstances, and it can be nearly impossible when times are tough. More than 30 years ago, during the mid-1980s, John Cougar Mellencamp’s mournful song...more
On August 23, President Trump signed into law two new pieces of legislation—the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 and the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019—that will likely lead to an increase in bankruptcy filings...more
On Friday, August 23, 2019, the President signed into law the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019. The Act increases the debt limit used to determine whether a family farmer is eligible for relief under Chapter 12 of the...more
The United States Senate passed the “Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019” (H.R. 2336), which substantially increases the debt limit for agricultural producers seeking to file for relief under Chapter 12 of the United States...more
The past few years haven’t been so kind to farmers. It appears that this year will continue the recent trend of subpar net farm income and increasing debt levels due to several years of various detrimental factors, including...more
On July 26, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2336, the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019. The primary purpose of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Anthony Delgado (D-NY), is to increase the debt limit for filing...more
Chapter 12 Bankruptcy was a common topic in the 1980’s-- the days of the Farm Aid concert and farmers driving tractors to Washington D.C. However, current difficulties are again raising the value of Chapter 12’s as a tool for...more
The latest federal bankruptcy statistics contain more bad news for Wisconsin’s farmers. Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies continue to rise even though overall bankruptcies continue to fall....more
Low grain and milk prices have negatively affected Wisconsin’s ag economy for a few years now. As further evidence of the financial stress on Wisconsin farmers, the national bankruptcy statistics show that, in 2017, more...more
Handling distressed agricultural loans can be very tricky. Loan balances for agricultural loans are typically smaller than nonagricultural commercial real property secured loans, requiring that they be handled extremely cost...more