If you’re a Michigan farmer and facing a legal dispute, you might want to consider the Michigan Agricultural Mediation Program (MAMP) that’s available through the Michigan Community Mediation Association.
Marc Stanley, Executive Director of Southeastern Dispute Resolution Services, says the program offers free mediation services covering a wide range of disputes.
“Not only we can help provide remedies with state agencies dealing with watershed, land use, and crop subsidies, but we’re also talking about housing-related issues, probate and estate succession planning, long-term family planning with how to deal with aging parents,” says Stanley.
He says a mediator could help take a long, drawn-out legal dispute and try to find solutions for all parties that could save you a LOT of time and a lot of money!
“Over the past 2 years, my office has helped settle three agricultural-related issues in Circuit Court that had been in litigation for more than five years a piece,” he says. “We were able to settle those in matter of five hours a piece, so we’re talking an afternoon versus five years of mediation in those five years of litigation, which can jack up those costs into hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Farmers’ disputes covered by this grant can range from:
- Agricultural loans
- Agricultural credit
- Wetland determinations
- Compliance with farm programs, including conservation programs
- Crop insurance
- Pesticides
- Rural development loans
- Organic certification
- Leases
- Family farm transitions
- Farmer-neighbor disputes
- Other agriculture-related topics deemed appropriate by USDA or the state department of agriculture
The federal Agricultural Mediation Program was enacted by Congress in 1987, to help our farmers. MAMP today can help address a wide range of agricultural challenges from loans, bankruptcy, wetland determinations, compliance issues, insurance disputes, contract issues, to family estate complications.
To learn more about how the Michigan Community Mediation Association can help you find a solution to your dispute, visit MichiganMediates.org.
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