Whether you are a producer looking to expand your operations without buying additional facilities, or a farmer approaching retirement and considering renting your hog barns out, the following are key terms that should be addressed in any barn lease: Correctly Identify Parties. Make sure the person signing the lease actually owns both the barn and...

In a June 27, 2018 opinion, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge, a state appellate court, and a 2005 Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision when it held that caps on non-economic damages are constitutional in medical malpractice cases. This 5-2 decision is the latest result of a long-standing constitutional battle in...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) made effective on December 22, 2017 repealed the old section 199 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) which used to provide for an income tax deduction equal to approximately 9 percent of the “qualified production activities income” from the taxpayer’s domestic production (“DPAD”) subject...

I. THE DISCHARGE A. The notion of a “fresh start” is one of the three fundamental philosophical tenets of the Bankruptcy Code. 1 B. The concept of the “fresh start” is premised on the notion that in most instances a debtor ought to have a second chance with a clean slate free of personal liability...

The Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017 is the most dramatic change to the U.S. Tax Code since 1986. This wide-reaching, complex tax reform passed in such a hurry at the end of 2017 that many business owners, including farmers, are still trying to figure out what the law’s impact will be on their...

Co-authored by Dean Zimmerli Benjamin Franklin once stated that “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Planning is an integral part of every farming operation. Farmers must regularly engage in advance planning to determine the crops they will plant or livestock they will raise, ensure access to the necessary inputs, and determine...

Thomas Jefferson famously advised, “[n]ever spend your money before you have it.”  But as Mr. Jefferson (who was substantially indebted throughout much of his life) himself discovered, this advice is far easier for most people to give than to heed.  Recent studies indicate that approximately 8 out of every 10 Americans are indebted in some...