| Oregon Farm Mediation Program |
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| New ways to solve problems |
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Mediation can help resolve conflicts
- Frustrated with a complaining neighbor?
- Didn´t get that farm rental agreement in writing and don´t know what to do?
- Need to renegotiate a contract?
- Feeling like you want to wring someone´s neck?
Call the Farm Mediation Program.
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| When to consider mediation |
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Mediation is especially useful when:
- parties are having a difficult time talking with each other,
- if having a third-party neutral would be helpful to the communications,
- a solution through the court system is not desired or would cost more than the parties want to spend in time or money,
- there are many parties involved and the assistance of a mediator could help bring the parties together and focus on resolving the dilemma,
- timely resolution of the dispute is important, or
- an on-going relationship is a critical part of resolving a dispute.
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| Background |
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The farm crisis of the mid-´80s brought about federal legislation that helped state's create mediation programs to assist with financial problems between farmers and their creditors. The Oregon Farm Mediation Program assisted in resolving over 100 credit disputes with an 80% agreement rate.
More recently, the Farm Mediation Program has been used to assist farm workers and their agricultural employers in resolving disagreements that would otherwise likely have gone to court. This "first in the nation" farm labor mediation program has handled over 100 agricultural labor cases since 1996 with a settlement rate of nearly 85%.
Other types of problems the program has assisted with include contract disputes, nuisance complaints, farm transition and partnership workouts, trespass situations, and other rural concerns when at least one party is an agricultural producer.
Mediation is gaining wider attention as a useful tool in addressing difficult situations that otherwise may lead to legal action by the parties and could result in costly and time consuming efforts. In court one party wins, another loses, and the judge gets to decide. While the idea of getting one's "day in court" may be appealing on the surface, the legal fees and court costs, time obligations, and emotional frustrations take their toll on the parties.
Mediation is an effort to bring all interested parties together early in the dispute. With all parties sitting around the table, information sharing is one of the biggest benefits of mediation. A professional mediator facilitates the discussions and ensures an impartial "give and take" occurs. The parties negotiate and shape a settlement agreement. The mediator can assist in drafting the document that represents the concepts agreed to by the parties. The mediator acts as a neutral with no decision-making authority. This gives the parties a lot more say in the outcome than they would have in a court setting. It means the parties generally are more satisfied with the settlement and are more inclined to make it work.
The use of mediation to help solve problems in rural areas can be a very useful tool for the parties. Whether it's an issue of nuisance complaints, trespass issues, landlord-tenant farmer issues, farm product sales contracts, boundary disputes, family business concerns, or just about any other dispute involving private parties, mediation can usually be helpful in resolving the problem.
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| Results |
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Parties who have been through mediation are quite satisfied with the process and the outcome. Over 95% of participants would recommend the process to someone else in resolving a farm-related dispute. Some other interesting findings from the participants:
- 81% rate program mediators as good or very good at effectiveness in assisting parties reach a resolution.
- 70% rate mediators as good or very good with understanding of the technical issues of the dispute.
- 92% rate mediators as good or very good about being impartial to the parties and the issues in dispute.
- 90% rate mediators as good or very good in their professionalism.
- Most mediations are completed in about four hours.
- More than 85% of participants were happy with the outcome of the mediation.
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| What does it cost? |
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In most cases, each party to a mediation pays $30 per hour for the service.
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| Contact information |
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Call the Farm Mediation Program at the Oregon Department of Agriculture, 503-986-4558 or 1-800-347-7028, to see if mediation can help; or send an e-mail to receive an electronic application for mediation from: Brent Searle
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| Other Resources |
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Conflict and Conflict Resolution in State Government
ARE WE CREATING CONFLICT, RESOLVING IT, OR JUST MOVING IT AROUND?
To the property owner whose pristine view will soon include a new highway
or to the ATV enthusiast who encounters a state park “Hikers Only” sign, their
conflict may seem to be the creation of government. But for the solitude-seeking
hiker or the rural commuter, government has successfully solved their problem and
resolved their conflict. It could also be observed that, like some law of
thermodynamics, the conflict was neither created nor resolved, but instead shifted
from one forum to another. The following report reviews the impacts, trends and
activities of Oregon’s dispute resolution programs and collaborative problemsolving
efforts over the last two years.
http://www.doj.state.or.us/adr/pdf/2008_state_agency_adr_update.pdf
Additional ADR-related resources are also available at: http://www.doj.state.or.us/adr/index.shtml
Being a Good Neighbor When Farming Offends: How Farmers Can Handle Ag Conflicts
Download the pdf document.
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