The Nebraska Beginning Farmer and Rancher Network will be hosting two programs in June on the Farm Service Agency Disaster and Loan Programs, as well as use of limited liability entities and the Nebraska Beginning Farmer Tax Credit.

The workshops are free and will be held in

• Grand Island June 6 at the Hall County Extension at the College Park from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and
• Ogallala June 29 at Petrified Wood Gallery from 1 to 3 p.m.

The workshop will provide overviews of

• Farm Service Agency loan programs (both direct and guaranteed operating and ownership loans, including those programs targeted at beginning farmers and ranchers, as well as the micro loan program and the recently expanded farm storage facility loan program);
• FSA livestock disaster programs (LFP, LIP and ELAP). 

The programs also will address some of the issues that arise under these programs when farm and ranches use limited liability entities as part of their business and/or succession planning. There will also be discussion of the benefits and requirements of the Nebraska Beginning Farmer Tax Credit program (NextGen), including requirements for use of this program by family members. The workshop should be useful for established farm and ranch owners, for their successors, and for beginners.  

Speakers will include:

• Joe Hawbaker, agricultural law attorney, with Hawbaker Law Office, Omaha, and
• Amy Swoboda, food and farm attorney with The Beginning Farmer Project of Legal Aid of Nebraska.

These workshops are made possible through the Nebraska Network for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers and the Beginning Farmer Project of Legal Aid of Nebraska, under an outreach grant from the Farm Service Agency, USDA. 

Information and Registration

To get more information and to register call the Rural Response Hotline at 1-800-464-0258.

These programs are also being offered for CLE credits to Nebraska Bar Association members. 

Related Resources

NextGen, a Nebraska Department of Agriculture program featuring assets and education for Nebraska's beginning farmers and ranchers, including a free webinar series on financial issues affecting farmers, calendar of related events.

Beginning Farmer Exemption for Personal Property, May 2016, Nebraska Department of Revenue