This panel will cover the unique issues faced by debtors and creditors when navigating financial distress and reorganization in the family farming and agricultural industry. In particular, the panelists will discuss current economic forces and filing trends, the material differences between chapter 12 and other forms of reorganization and how these differences guide a debtor’s filing decision, non-bankruptcy federal and state law governing lien creation, perfection and priority, and asset-tracing and uncovering fraud.
Learning Objectives:
- Attendees will understand the eligibility requirements and key statutory features of Chapter 12, including the application of "family farmer" definitions.
- Attendees will analyze plan feasibility in Chapter 12 cases in light of commodity price volatility, rising input costs, and changing interest rates.
- Attendees will evaluate the treatment of secured claims and recent case law developments, and identify practical strategies for representing both debtors and agricultural lenders.