Mediation as a Problem Solving Tool for Farmers and Agribusiness

Topic:

 

Operating an agricultural enterprise in today’s uncertain economic climate is both operationally challenging and personally taxing. Having to make complex business decisions while maintaining relationships with employees, business partners, neighbors, suppliers, creditors, and regulators, farmers are constantly having to solve problems.  Mediation has been shown to be a helpful tool when making plans for the future or managing important relationships.  Mediators have been helping farmers solve these problems for more than 35 years in a way that ensures confidentiality and allows producers to maintain their autonomy and independence.

This webinar will help farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers, as well as attorneys and others who help support the agricultural community, learn about:

  • The range of situations in which mediation has been proven to helpful problem solving tool including emerging COVID-19 related issues
  • How mediation works and what to expect from your mediator
  • 40 State Agricultural Mediation Programs available to you

 

Time and Date:

   

 Wednesday, May 20, 2020

12:00 – 1:00 (EDT)

Participation:

This webinar is offered free of charge and is limited to the first 100 registrants. It is recommended that you test your computer for software compatibility prior to the webinar by clicking here.

This webinar was recorded on May 20, 2020. To view a recording of this webinar, please click here.

Presenters:

Matt Strassberg is the director of the Environmental Mediation Center and the administrator of the EMC’s agricultural mediation programs in Vermont, New Hampshire, California, and Hawaii. He is an attorney and mediator with over thirty years of experience in environmental law and mediation. He was the founding director of Green Mountain Environmental Resolutions, a dispute resolution firm focused on developing collaborative solutions to environmental and land use disputes. He served on the Steering Committee of the Coalition of Agricultural Mediation Programs and is listed on the roster of the US Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution.

Daniel Kos is the Assistant ADR Coordinator for NYS Unified Court System, where he works with a team to oversee a network of community mediation centers serving all 62 counties of New York. Each year this network, the largest in the country, provides services in more than 30,000 cases. In this role he regularly works with courts, state agencies, and funders to develop ADR programs. For the last fifteen years he has also overseen the New York State Agricultural Mediation Program which annually provides services in more than 750 cases. He regularly delivers mediation, facilitation, and conflict coaching training in New York and presents at local and national conferences.

Lucy Pauley is the Coordinator of the Wyoming Agriculture and Natural Resource Mediation Program, which operates out of the Wyoming Dept. of Agriculture in Cheyenne. The program provides mediation, technical review teams (TRT’s) and other alternative dispute resolution services for individuals and organizations involved in a wide variety of conflicts including farm credit, grazing permits, split estate disputes, neighbor/neighbor conflicts, ag family issues and more.  As coordinator, Lucy travels around the state promoting the program.  She also coordinates the requests for mediation that the program receives and conducts training in mediation, negotiation, facilitation and other processes.

 

Research & Materials:

Coming soon.