A new workshop — "Ag Liens, Loans, and Leases" — will be held at two sites in mid-December to help farmers assessing these aspects of their farm operation and management this winter.

The Dec. 13 workshop will be in Davenport at the Community Center and the Dec. 14 workshop will be in Holdrege at the Phelps County Ag Center.  Both workshops, which will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., are free and include a lunch. For more information or to register, call the Rural Response Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.

Workshop Topics and Presenters

Agricultural Liens — presented by Joe Hawbaker, agricultural law attorney with Hawbaker law Office, Omaha.
Nebraska's statutory agricultural liens, from the producer's perspective:  What are they?  How do they work? These are liens that give creditors rights in certain property, such as crops, feed and livestock, to secure payment of obligations for goods or services, such as seed, fertilizer, ag chemicals, petroleum products, veterinary assistance, cattle care, harvest work and machine repair.  The discussion will focus on identifying the liens and understanding how they work from the producer's perspective.   

Agricultural Loans presented by Dave Goeller, agricultural finance and transition specialist.
The presentation will provide producers with an inside look at “What your lender is looking for?” and will cover the impact of collateral, cash flow, credit score, character and trends on loan applications.  A brief overview of balance sheets, trend sheets and ratio analysis will also be included. 

Leases presented by Alan Vyhnalek, Nebraska Extension Educator for Farm/Ranch Succession.
The importance of lease communications between the landlord and tenant and useful lease provisions will be covered, along with highlights of current lease rates and trends in Nebraska.

Workshop Support

These workshops are made possible by the Nebraska Network for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, the Farm and Ranch Project of Legal Aid of Nebraska, North Central Risk Management Education, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Nebraska Farmers Union Foundation, Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s Next Gen, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Thayer and Phelps counties.