CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire Agricultural Mediation Program (NHAMP) has been helping farmers resolve agricultural issues confidentially and for free since 2010. With support from the USDA and the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, NHAMP recently expanded the list of approved issues that qualify for free mediation to also include easements, contracts, and labor issues.
“Although every situation is different, mediators often work with farms that have already tried to resolve issues on their own,” said Cara Cargill, a mediator with the New Hampshire Agricultural Mediation Program. “Even when you’ve tried everything to fix the problem, mediation can often be successful. A mediator is a neutral person who helps people negotiate their differences to get to a solution.”
Recent NHAMP data show success rates of over 80% when mediation is tried before resorting to arbitration, litigation, or other dispute resolution methods.
“It is important that we do all we can to encourage agricultural success in our state,” New Hampshire Commissioner of Agriculture Shawn Jasper said. “I have seen firsthand how effective mediation can be in resolving difficult disputes. One thing about mediating these types of disputes is there are no losers.”
Sarah Laeng Gilliatt, a New Hampshire farmer, says NHAMP is a critical resource in solving the unique issues that can come up when you own a farm.
“It is not an overstatement to say that I couldn’t have continued to farm without their help,” Laeng Gilliatt reflected. “In a cultural context that is less and less an agricultural one, with some neighbors espousing rural New Hampshire, but not always being willing to accept some of what that means in their backyard, NHAMP stepped in with much skillfulness in conversations with neighbors so that creative solutions could be found that met everyone’s needs.”
Agricultural mediation programs like NHAMP exist in states across the U.S. and are certified and funded through grants from the USDA. The program was created to help farmers, lenders, creditors, and USDA resolve issues informally and without the transaction costs associated with the legal system. The goal is to help the parties reach mutually agreeable solutions.
Charlene Andersen of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund has connected farmers with NHAMP surrounding short-term debt challenges.
“Cash flow is critical for farmers. Balancing accounts receivables and payables is crucial in their business,” Andersen said. “Mediators have helped our farmer clients consider new ways to balance cash flow and restructure accounts payables to help them pay off their short-term debt more easily.”
The complete list of agricultural issues eligible for free mediation includes contracts, credit counseling, crop insurance, debt issues, easement issues, farm loans, family farm transitions, farmer-neighbor disputes, labor issues, land and equipment leases, organic certification, pesticide issues, USDA farm and conservation programs, USDA rural development loans, and wetlands determinations.
NHAMP offers on-site mediation sessions and teleconferencing sessions so that everyone has access to this service no matter where they live. For more information or to sign up for free mediation with NHAMP, visit www.NHamp.org to fill out an online request form. Or contact Cara Cargill at (603) 685-4780 or carac@emcenter.org.
About the New Hampshire Agricultural Mediation Program:
NHAMP is a program of the Environmental Mediation Center (EMC), a non-profit organization that designs and administers environmental and agricultural dispute resolution programs. NHAMP provides free mediation services to the agricultural community in New Hampshire on various issues, including farm loans, credit issues, farmer/neighbor conflicts, leases, USDA conservation programs, organic certification, wetlands determinations, family farm transitions, and many more.
–New Hampshire Agricultural Mediation Program