The Kansas Rural Center Announces 2 Days Designed to Create Legal Resiliency On The Farm
Lawrence, KS — On Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 the Kansas Rural Center is hosting 2 workshops to help farmers build legal competence and resilience. These workshops are being hosted as a collaboration between Farm Commons, Douglas County Extension and the Kansas Rural Center. You are welcome to attend one or both workshops. Those interested are encouraged to sign up soon as there are limited seats.
There is a fee of $5 at registration that will be refunded at the time of the workshop to attendees.
Lunch will be provided by Raven’s Table.
Day 1 – Discovering Resilience will take place Friday March 27th from 9 am – 4:30 pm in Flory Hall at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
This workshop empowers farmers with the resources they need to resolve legal vulnerability in land use and leasing, employment, agritourism and value-added production, business structures, insurance, and liability. Learn to write an effective comprehensive lease. Explore whether you should form an LLC, S corporation, or neither. If you’re wondering about hosting interns or working with volunteers or how to manage the risk that guests may get injured when they visit the operation, this is for you. Farm law affects everyone, especially the most innovative, direct-to-consumer farmers. Answers aren’t always easy to come by- but that’s why Discovering Resilience exists.
This isn’t your typical boring, expert-focused legal education. Listen to experienced farmers Angela Dake and Sharon Autry, explain how they manage risk on their farm, while legal experts emphasize the law’s specifics. Participants walk away with an individualized to do list that reflects their needs and priorities. Nearly 90% of farmers plan to make changes to their operation- changes that reduce risk and leverage legal opportunity- as a result of this workshop. In today’s difficult farm climate, farmers need all the resilience they can get. These mentors will help guide participants to protect the legacy they are building.
Angela Dake is the proud owner of Hidden Hill Farms in Auburn Kansas, where she is dedicated to raising high quality grass fed/finished beef, pastured poultry, produce, and providing agritourism opportunities. The agritourism was developed to share her love of agriculture and teaching, including opportunities for a farmstay where guests come to relax in a country setting and to gain a greater appreciation for local food and agriculture. Some of the activities include summer farm camps for children, partnerships with local FFA chapters, classes and tours, and more. In 2020 the farm was awarded the Shawnee County Farm Bureau Natural Resources Farm of the Year and Third Place in the State of Kansas. Angela (a former teacher) is a public speaker, writes articles about her farm experiences, and serves as a consultant and mentor for urban and rural beginning and developing farmers.
Sharon Autry has six years of specialty crop production experience including growing in high tunnels. She is a 2019 Growing Growers KC farmers apprenticeship graduate and earned a Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture from Johnson County Community College in 2020. Sharon established her own small-scale, organic, specialty crop operation, Herdsman House Farm LLC, near Hillsdale Lake in Miami County. She has served as Farm Director at KC Farm School, an urban training farm in Wyandotte County, and has served in leadership roles with KC Young Farmers Coalition. She has gained experience with local food distribution through her involvement with KC Food Hub, Rolling Prairie CSA, and Louisburg’s Nomad Market KC.
Register today @ https://bit.ly/4tt0IYB
Day 2 Discovering Advanced Farm Labor Law will take place Saturday, March 28th from 9 am – 4:30 pm in Flory Hall at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
You do not need to attend Discovering Resilience to attend Advanced Farm Labor Law. This workshop will enhance your understanding of minimum wage, overtime, and workers’ compensation requirements while developing fair and equitable management systems on the farm. This advanced course is designed to help farmers and ranchers acquire the legal knowledge and practical skills necessary to manage employment responsibilities effectively.
Led by Rachel Armstrong, founder and Executive Director of Farm Commons, this workshop is an innovative approach to farm law risk reduction. Rachel believes that farmers have what they need to be expert legal risk managers and that the right tools can awaken that capacity. She has led dozens of effective, interactive trainings for thousands of farmers nationwide. As a leading authority on direct-to-consumer farm law, Rachel has also authored many publications on farm law matters for farmers, published academic and trade articles for attorneys, and teaches university classes in farm law. She is a graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the University of Wisconsin Madison.
By the end of this producer-focused course, you will have gained important knowledge in the following areas:
Minimum Wage
Overtime Pay
Managing the risks associated with worker injuries
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Avoiding discrimination in hiring and firing practices
Payroll, tax, and paperwork obligations
Aligning in-kind (non-cash) wage payments with legal standards
Properly classifying workers in accordance with the law (including independent contractors, volunteers, and more)
Register today @ bit.ly/46KKi3U
