Farm Commons

Running payroll can be a confusing and frustratingly bureaucratic process for farmers and ranchers attempting to do it independently, but it doesn't have to be! In this episode we explore ways that farmers and ranchers can alleviate the administrative burdens of payroll. We discuss the pros and cons of solutions like payroll services, DIY payroll, and cross-farm cooperatives.  Additional resources...

As a farmer or rancher, you’re probably familiar with insurance for covering your workers from the risk of injuries at work. This includes workers’ compensation, which you may be required to have, and optional health insurance packages. However, what about your injuries? Are you covered in the case of injury from self-employment? Sometimes health insurance policies will exclude injuries that occur...

Working interviews, also known as trial interviews, can be an excellent way for both employers and prospective employees to learn if a job is the right fit. Tune in to learn about some risk management techniques to consider when using working interviews on your farm or ranch! In this episode we revisit the fact that anyone who does the work of a for-profit business is likely an employee, and we ex...

While Whole Farm Revenue Protection and the new Micro Farm Policy option provide more flexible crop insurance coverage options for small scale diversified farms, there are still crops that remain outside of coverage bounds. This is the case for foraged and wild foods products-- those ramps, wild mushrooms, pawpaws, nuts, and medicinal herbs growing wild but made available on the market by foragers...

The answer to questions like "Can I have an intern on my farm?" and "Does it matter what I pay them?" is actually quite straightforward. Before we get there, though, we clear the air about what an intern is in the eyes of the law and guide farm and ranch business owners through understanding whether their "intern" is actually a legal employee. Action steps: Read the Farmers' Legal Guide to Intern...

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...

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...

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. Furth...

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...

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 a...

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...

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...

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...

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 le...

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...

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, agricu...

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...

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...

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 rel...

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 in...

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...

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...

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 Dec...

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 t...

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 Pol...