November 7, 2023
35 Years of Serving Kansas Ag Producers and Farmland Owners
The Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services (KAMS) has been a resource hotline for Kansas farmers, ranchers and farmland owners for 35 years. Today, KAMS provides mediation, agricultural financial counseling, legal information and education, and transition and succession planning services for free or low-cost.
During FY 2023, KAMS more than doubled the number of cases and mediations handled in FY21 or FY22. Through KAMS services, many conflicts are resolved without the need for mediation or litigation. In FY23 KAMS handled more than 270 cases and provided 21 mediations, 54 farm analyst meetings and 19 family farm transition meetings.
Mediation is one way parties in conflict can meet with a trained facilitator to improve communication and resolve conflict. Mediation generally provides a quicker resolution with less expense involved than litigation. Mediation is intended to help the parties resolve their own conflicts, improve communication and to move forward through their conflict.
Participants are encouraged to use KAMS resources to prepare for mediation to improve outcomes. Frequently, parties to the conflict are able to resolve their issues without the need for mediation or litigation.
Legal resources include accessing avenues for ag producers and farmland owners to ask questions; and requesting a review of legal documents, including trusts and farm organization paperwork. On a case-by-case basis, assistance from Kansas Legal Services may be offered to prepare for mediation or assist in resolving a dispute.
Farm financial analysts assist families in taking a deep dive into the farm financials, reviewing enterprise budgets, preparing cash flows, and working with parties to prepare for mediation, working with creditors, or planning for the next generation to enter the operation.
KAMS transition and succession planning services provide landowners and farm families assistance in planning for the future, whether that is creating farm organizations, bringing in another generation to the farm or the dissolution of a trust or the organization’s assets. KAMS regularly partners with the Office of Farm and Ranch Transitions to help families plan for the next generation of Kansas farmers.
While some services have fees, every call to the Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services is free and confidential. Participants are notified of fees associated with resources in advance.
At its inception in 1988, ag mediation programs provided mediation for farmers dealing with the USDA or ag credit issues. The Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services and the federal program that funds it have expanded services that are offered to ag producers and farmland owners.
Areas that KAMS can assist with include USDA adverse decisions (FSA, NRCS, Rural Development), ag credit issues, land or equipment leasing, crop insurance, farm family transition, ag-credit counseling, farmer/neighbor disputes (fences, rights-of way, easements, and more.), pesticides, wetlands, rural water, national forest grazing, rural business loans, and rural housing.
Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services is the Certified Agricultural Mediation Program for Kansas. The Certified Agricultural Mediation Programs were authorized in the 1987 farm bill and have continued since. There are currently 43 ag mediation programs across the country.
This week, staff will be providing educational information about KAMS programming at the 2023 Kansas Income Tax Institutes and K-State Landowners Conference, and transition planning programing for the Kansas Rural Conference. KAMS staff and partners are available to attend extension and other programs to share the message of KAMS or provide education and training on a variety of topics. In FY23, KAMS staff provided outreach and education at more than 25 events state-wide.
To reach out to KAMS with a stakeholder issue or to request a speaker for outreach and education, please contact Kay Prather or Crystal Cosand at 1-800-321-FARM (3276) or email kams@ksu.edu.