Progress report for LS21-356
Project Information
Report for: LS21-356 - NCABL Land Loss Prevention Project
Grant Name: Securing Land Tenure Rights for Heirs Property Owners
Reporting Periods: YEAR ONE, 04/01/2021 - 03/31/2022; YEAR TWO, 04/01/2022 - 03/31/2023
Background
In March 2021, Southern SARE (SSARE) awarded a two-year research grant of $400,000 to the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project (LLPP). The project, “Securing Land Tenure Rights for Heirs Property Owners,” was designed to increase farmers’ and communities’ awareness of the barriers presented by heirs property, and provide access to trusted community resources through farmers, landowner associations, and project partners on using these new tools to address these barriers. The five phases of project activities (described below, highlighted in blue) built on farmer/ landowner input in the Discover Phase and utilized the Build and Educate Phases to spread knowledge and practices; and then supported a broader change network through the Evaluation and Dissemination Phases.
Our work in the first year of this project was slowed because of the intensification of the coronavirus pandemic. We had to pivot from in person meetings to largely zoom interaction. And larger policy issues raised during this time period also caused us to pivot in our work to meet the needs of farmers and communities as we responded to new needs that arose with the emerging policy focus on debt relief and discrimination financial assistance and input to the newly created USDA Equity Commission.
Discover: The team built on leveraged project activities for ongoing input to support farmers/ landowners in securing land tenure, ensuring economic wellbeing, and improving the environmental quality of their operations and social benefits to the communities.
Build: We built educational and policy materials and provided legal and technical assistance based on the recommendations and best practices to move producers to secured land tenure.
Educate: We shared materials/ practices with farmers, extension agents, and communities, and grew the support network needed to adopt more ecologically and sustainable practices.
Broadly, the Land Loss Prevention Project (LLPP) team and partners carried out the following project activities, including:
- Outreach and Education: LLPP hosted virtual and in-person workshops, shared materials developed in response to farmer/ landowner input, and made presentations at other entities’ gatherings, to build skills and transfer knowledge about land tenure issues, farm business opportunities, legal structures, accessing public funding and more. We also developed professional development classes/ sessions to broaden the support and assistance network available to help historically underserved producers and landowners address heirs property and related land tenure and economic challenges; and build a trusted community of practice with skills and capacity to provide additional follow-up support to individuals and families. NOTE: Due to COVID surges, the majority of Year One workshops, presentations and exhibits were carried out virtually/ online.
- Legal and Technical Assistance: LLPP provided legal and technical assistance to farmers, landowners, families, cooperatives, community-based organizations, and agriculturally-focused nonprofits, including sharing information; providing one-on-one legal assistance or technical support to address heir property, foreclosure prevention, estate planning or other land tenure issues; helping families and groups of farmers/ landowners structure limited liability companies, agricultural and value-added food businesses, community farms and cooperatives/ collectives; and increasing access to public dollars and providing direct connections to agencies, funding and other resources that have previously been functionally inaccessible.
- Supporting Models: Building on input from producers and landowners with a broad range of experience (from individuals exploring the potential for farming as a livelihood to those with decades and multiple generations of production experience) and lessons learned during the Discover Phase, LLPP served as a thought/ planning/ design partner, and provided targeted technical assistance to young, beginning, veteran and limited-resource producers and landowners in structuring cooperative and collective land tenure and production/ branding/ marketing models that address economic and financial realities/ conditions; build and strengthen collaborative production models/ operations; and create viable options for historically underserved producers and landowners.
- Technical Assistance to Communities to Address Heirs Property - During this time period, RC Partner Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project (OBHRPI) worked with local Mayors in the historic Black towns of Grayson, Clearview, Taft, Rentiesville, Tatums, Lima, and Boley, Oklahoma, who requested information about opportunities with the State and Federal programs. Their interest in seeking assistance on addressing heirs property issues on a community level informed the development of the content of A-Guide-to-Addressing-Heirs-Property_Final.pdf authored by Rural Coalition and Land Loss Prevention Project, published in April 2022 by the Southern Rural Development Center.
Evaluate: Research findings and metrics were documented and informed development of new materials, business models and operating structures to strengthen production and land tenure.
Disseminate: Educational materials and policy proposals were made available to producers, extension agents, advocates, support groups, key policy makers.
- Evaluation and Dissemination activities were carried out throughout Year One, with recommendations and lessons learned being incorporated into subsequent materials, policy recommendations, and more.
- Informing Policy: The Discover, Build, Educate and Evaluate Phases provided a wealth of information that was used to inform local, state and national food and agriculture policy through participation in a range of efforts, from helping community nonprofits access public dollars, to sharing challenges faced by underserved producers and landowners in accessing pandemic recovery funds, to advocating for passage of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA) in the face of increasing resistance in NC, OK and KS; to making shared nominations and ultimately having the LLPP Executive Director and several other of our partners to serve on the USDA’s Equity Commission and its Agriculture Subcommittee. We shared information gleaned throughout the project period, as well as lessons learned from producers’ and partners’ lived/ work experiences, including challenges and opportunities involved in cooperative/ collective models of ownership and production.
Not applicable. Project Objectives remained as orginally proposed:
- Discover: The team will develop an in-depth understanding of the experience of farming communities and families in addressing farm succession issues, and how new farm bill policies related to heirs property and related state laws, are working to remove barriers to USDA program access and return dormant land to production.
- Build: Using findings, the team will engage communities to develop recommendations on improving heirs property policies and educational materials to better meet the needs of farmers and communities
- Educate: Materials and Recommendations will be refined with participating farmers and area extension agents.
- Evaluate: Materials refined are evaluated for final dissemination.
- Disseminate: Educational material and policy proposals will be made available to producers and extension agents nationwide and key policy makers.
Cooperators
- - Producer
- - Producer
- - Producer
- - Producer
- - Producer
Research
Objective 1: - The full project team, with leadership from the farm team formed of the cooperating farmers, will provide workshops in each area using LLPP’s “10 Ways to Save Your Land.” Participants across these communities will then be invited to participate in confidential focus groups followed by a survey. Focus groups will utilize various techniques including dot allocation to identify key factors and prioritize influential concepts on the impact of these issues for families in the community to inform the survey 2. The surveys, which will protect the identity of the participants, will focus on the experience of the farm families and gathering key demographic data and farm enterprise data. Taken together these informed surveys centering around land tenure and farming practices will help unveil how land tenure arrangements and new tools influence farming operation choices, sustainability, and succession.
Our partners have previously made extensive use of participatory research and popular education methodologies in our work. By aligning our research, data collection, reporting, and dissemination strategies, we will look back out what we have achieved in the past, and how we can keep improving the work as well as the tools for information sharing about successes and solutions. We will employ and assess the value of the following methods in our work:
- Baseline Surveying and Assessment
- Group-Based Training and Information Sharing
- Individualized Technical Assistance
- Leadership Development and Increased Capacity of our Farmer Mentoring Network
- Project Team Field Visits/Conferences
- Outreach and Communications
- Data Collection, Results/Outcomes-Based Reporting and Participatory Evaluation
- Resource Sharing and Information Dissemination
Objective 2 - Build: Based on the discoveries of objective one, the team will develop additional questions and conduct additional analysis using county level data from the Census of Agriculture, and on key concepts drawn from the broader literature. The partner groups had proposed to the National Agriculture Statistics Service that they present Census of Agriculture data to the county level by race, gender and ethnicity. In 2012, these reports were added for every county in the nation, allowing an accessible way to compare differences in numbers, average age, average farm size, differences in products produced, and in gross and net income and federal farm program benefits received in each county. We will employ this data to help each community develop insights during this project on how to better structure outreach and technical assistance, and over time, to track results, by race, gender and ethnicity.
Workshops will engage communities to develop specific recommendations on how heirs property related policy tools and educational materials are now working and how these can be improved to better meet the needs of farmers and communities, with a focus on how new farm bill policies related to heirs property, coupled with the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA)being adopted at the state level, are working to remove barriers to USDA program access, and help families address the difficult issues of family succession and benefit the community.
Objective 3 - Educate: The educational materials and policy recommendations will be shared with participating farmers, area extension agents, and policy makers for revisions and action. LLPP and other partners will test materials during follow-up estate planning workshops, and wills clinics, and trainings using RC and other modules on registering farms with USDA, financial record keeping and other methods to access USDA programs will be utilized. All modules tested will be evaluated by the Farm Team and during the trainings, and will be revised, updated and shared with others for final review, including at the annual Winter Forum of the Rural Coalition, at the trainings held annually by Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project and Operation Spring Plant. RC and the partners will compile and share for feedback any policy recommendations to better utilize new policy tools and to identify policy gaps in statutory authority, programs covered, and additional barriers to USDA programs to be addressed. New modules developed from 10 Ways to Save Your Land, and updates of Rural Coalition other training materials will be refined for review.
Objective 4- Evaluate: Research findings and metrics will be reported including numbers of farmers and communities reached, number of wills completed, and the outcomes of heirs property representation provided, including use of the UPHPA. The team will also share for review with extension personnel and policy makers a report analyzing the view of farmers and communities of the efficacy of new policy tools coupled with training modules to return dormant land to farming and pass it on to new generations, and otherwise affect the ecological status, economic well-being and quality of life of the farmer, her/his family, and the community. The efficacy of the materials produced will be evaluated using a pre-test/post-test design and amended for final dissemination. The team will further assess the extent to which new farm bill policies related to heirs property, coupled with the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act being adopted at the state level, are working to remove barriers to USDA program access, and help families address the difficult issues of family succession in the farming vocation.
The Final Project Report will include a summary tally of critical project activities, with survey data used to describe the land tenure status and other needs, and sign in sheets to measure the number of overall participants, including the number of producers who received training. We will also share our findings from community meetings. These data will augment NASS/USDA data analysis to improve understandings of the producer needs when accounting for race/gender/ethnicity.
Objective 5 -Disseminate: Educational material and policy proposals will be made available for producers, partner organizations and related CBO networks, and extension agents nationwide, on websites, in annual meetings held by each group and distributed to and discussed with key policy makers.
Education
Educate: We shared materials/ practices with farmers, extension agents, and communities, and grew the support network needed to adopt more ecologically and sustainable practices.
Broadly, the Land Loss Prevention Project (LLPP) team and partners carried out the following project activities, including:
- Outreach and Education: LLPP hosted virtual and in-person workshops, shared materials developed in response to farmer/ landowner input, and made presentations at other entities’ gatherings, to build skills and transfer knowledge about land tenure issues, farm business opportunities, legal structures, accessing public funding and more. We also developed professional development classes/ sessions to broaden the support and assistance network available to help historically underserved producers and landowners address heirs property and related land tenure and economic challenges; and build a trusted community of practice with skills and capacity to provide additional follow-up support to individuals and families. NOTE: Due to COVID surges, the majority of Year One workshops, presentations and exhibits were carried out virtually/ online.
- Legal and Technical Assistance: LLPP provided legal and technical assistance to farmers, landowners, families, cooperatives, community-based organizations, and agriculturally-focused nonprofits, including sharing information; providing one-on-one legal assistance or technical support to address heir property, foreclosure prevention, estate planning or other land tenure issues; helping families and groups of farmers/ landowners structure limited liability companies, agricultural and value-added food businesses, community farms and cooperatives/ collectives; and increasing access to public dollars and providing direct connections to agencies, funding and other resources that have previously been functionally inaccessible.
- Supporting Models: Building on input from producers and landowners with a broad range of experience (from individuals exploring the potential for farming as a livelihood to those with decades and multiple generations of production experience) and lessons learned during the Discover Phase, LLPP served as a thought/ planning/ design partner, and provided targeted technical assistance to young, beginning, veteran and limited-resource producers and landowners in structuring cooperative and collective land tenure and production/ branding/ marketing models that address economic and financial realities/ conditions; build and strengthen collaborative production models/ operations; and create viable options for historically underserved producers and landowners.
- Technical Assistance to Communities to Address Heirs Property - During this time period, RC Partner Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project (OBHRPI) worked with local Mayors in the historic Black towns of Grayson, Clearview, Taft, Rentiesville, Tatums, Lima, and Boley, Oklahoma, who requested information about opportunities with the State and Federal programs. Their interest in seeking assistance on addressing heirs property issues on a community level informed the development of the content of A-Guide-to-Addressing-Heirs-Property_Final.pdf authored by Rural Coalition and Land Loss Prevention Project, published in April 2022 by the Southern Rural Development Center.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Project Activities - Year One
Over the course of the Year One project period, the Land Loss Prevention Project team engaged in the following producer/ landowner/ community support activities:
- Outreach and Education: 2,116 individuals participated in 12 virtual and 4 in-person workshops, including 811 Farmers/ homeowner farmers/ farmers (including small-acreage farmers)/ landowners/ community leaders and members; 1,169 land, racial justice and elder abuse prevention advocates;182 Legal practitioners and rural community development and disaster preparedness advocates for farmers and homeowners; and 34 rural small business owners. Over 2,817 electronic and hard copies of written materials were distributed on a range of topics, including:
-
- Heir property, foreclosure process/ special considerations for heir property owners, partition, wills, estate and succession planning, types of land ownership, forming a limited liability company, LLPP services
- Land and racial justice, land retention and intergenerational wealth, highlighting challenges and solutions for Black farmers
- Farm stabilization, foreclosure prevention, tax and reverse mortgage foreclosures, recordkeeping, Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Zombie mortgages (homeowner concentration)
- Land tenure and methods to retain land, present use value programs and appeal process, delinquent taxes, zoning
- Farm business entity formation, leases, business law solutions, land and business transfers, voluntary agricultural districts, negotiating and structuring contracts and other agreements to advance farm businesses (principles, legal issues, best practices), branding/ trademarking, SmartGrowth Business Center services
- Cooperatives – planning, structuring, operating cooperatively
- Disaster preparedness/ relief/ recovery
- Policy: 2018 Farm Bill provisions, American Rescue Plan Act, Heirs Property Relending Program, State and Federal pandemic recovery programs/ resources, and Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act
- Legal and Technical Assistance: Over the course of Year One, LLPP handled over 304 legal matters for farmers and landowners in 71 of the 100 North Carolina counties. These included: 55 lending and finance-related matters, including debt restructuring, consumer issues, and foreclosure defense, including bankruptcy; 74 real property matters such as adverse possession, boundary disputes and heirs property; 25 agricultural business issues including rural economic development, incorporation, tax-exempt status support, land use, environmental issues and miscellaneous matters such as tenancy; 24 civil and individual rights matters, including issues involving the USDA; and support to 126 individuals and families on preparing wills and estate planning. The legal and technical assistance preserved land, homes, and farms with a total tax value of $1,945,027, retaining critical assets for families in need and protecting farms and agricultural businesses.
- Supporting Models: Examples of supporting collaborative, cooperative and collective food system models include LLPP’s legal and SmartGrowth Business Center providing support to a regional agriculturally-focused non-profit in creating operational documents and counseling on requirements; developing a range of land use agreements; assisting a community farm addressing food security and cultural preservation within an underserved population in examining options for future expansion and land stability (examples: long-term lease, land purchase); engaging with a collaborative living and farming collective as they explore business entity options and non-profit structure to advance land sovereignty and sustainability; and working with multiple families in formulating a land management and consolidation plan for heir property to maintain land tenure. Due to COVID surges, this portion of our project-related work was reduced due to our inability to make onsite visits with cooperative members and families. We anticipate an increase in this vitally important portion of the work in Year Two, recognizing the potential it brings for growing existing, and creating new intergenerational wealth through collective ownership of land, farming operations, value-added food businesses and more.
- Informing Policy: Much of our policy work is informed by the LLPP's longstanding direct legal assistance to farmers and farm-based businesses, which is critical in tracking issues, challenges and solutions; and vitally important in informing policy recommendations rooted in the realities of underserved farmers and families. We have worked to further equity on behalf of heir property owners in the Farm Bill through the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA), allowing for automatic qualification for a farm number in states adopting the Act and in non-UPHPA states, and for USDA’s identification and acceptance of alternate forms of documentation of land control.
LLPP collaborated with the Rural Coalition and other partners to provide input and analysis on the relevant provisions affecting socially disadvantaged farmers of color in the American Rescue Plan (ARP), signed into law on March 11, 2021. When the debt relief for farmers and ranchers of color provided in that Act was halted by litigation and a preliminary injunction in April 2021, RC and LLPP led our partners in preparing an amicus brief with support from Southern Poverty Law Center countering the contentions in the complaint – one of 13 cases filed in courts around the nation. We worked together also with Intertribal Agriculture Council on policy solutions to this impasse, and with partner on the hill, we helped to shape policy to replace the halted debt relief which ended the impasse. In August 2022, with our strong support, Sections 22006 and 22007 were included in the Inflation Reduction Act, providing over $3 billion in debt payments to distressed farmers and an additional $2.2 billion in financial assistance for farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA’s farm lending programs prior to January 1, 2021. Through outreach events for producers, LLPP raised awareness and understanding of the Inflation Reduction Act provisions concerning the USDA and addressing debt relief and farm loan discrimination and shared ongoing developments as the USDA shaped those efforts internally going forward.
Representative Legal Matters
Throughout Year One of the project period, vulnerable farmers were continuing to weather pandemic fallout; compounding multi-year losses from previous sequential hurricanes and a tropical storm; the summer’s drought; and escalating expenses. Our multi-front strategy encompassing agriculturalist connection to local, state, and federal opportunities and building pathways to supportive resources for farmers was further expanded and particularly critical to uphold the livelihoods and legacy of North Carolina’s limited resourced and BIPOC families
LLPP attorneys provide tailored legal advice on a variety of matters connected with the retention of land resources. LLPP represents those individuals and families that cannot afford to hire private attorneys and fill a gap to serve those individuals that can utilize the legal tools to protect land ownership. Each client matter is unique and with specific issues, but the following list contains a number of representative cases.
- The LLPP team assisted a widow in avoiding foreclosure on the family home following the death of her husband. Her difficulties were compounded by language barriers, preexisting lack of clarity concerning estate status, and not being recognized by the mortgage company. With LLPP's support, she was established as a successor in interest, achieved a loan modification and debt relief, and retained her home while gaining greater financial stability.
- The LLPP provided ongoing assistance to an elder heir property owner to create an agreement to address collaborative land management and agricultural program access for over 80 acres.
- The LLPP engaged in farm transition planning and will and related document drafting on behalf of clients operating a farm of almost 400 acres.
- Following gaining tax-exempt status for a nonprofit previously created with LLPP's assistance, the LLPP developed a lease agreement for the nonprofit’s cultivation of property to further its mission of generating urban farming opportunities in Eastern N.C.
- The LLPP assisted an individual who had established a teaching farm with a concentration in supporting underserved youth in creating an operating agreement. The LLPP also engaged with the producer in farm succession planning and the creation of his own will. The farm advances STEM education while providing mentorship and training in sustainable agriculture.
Outreach and Education Events April 2021 – March 2022
- On May 20, 2021, the LLPP staffed a live exhibit at the 9th Annual Small Business Summit sponsored by Vance-Granville Community College and connected with 34 people.
- Also on May 20, 2021, the LLPP presented “Cultivating a Solid Foundation: Securing Your Farm Business” at Operation Spring Plant's virtual annual conference, reaching 30 people.
- On June 2, 2021, the LLPP spoke at Alton & Bird's Lunch & Learn on "Land and Racial Justice, Challenges and Solutions for Black Farmers". Sixty-nine people participated.
- The LLPP provided written educational material for each of the 1,000 sponsor-projected attendees at six Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments' Elder Abuse Awareness and Prevention regional events (Franklin, Granville, Person, Vance, and Warren Counties) held June 10-18, 2021.
- On November 3, 2021, the LLPP participated in the Land Retention and Intergenerational Wealth panel discussion on LinkedIn along with the Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History and attorney Jeff Austin highlighting the importance of understanding title, tax programs and estate planning. There were over 100 registrants.
- On November 4, 2021, the LLPP along with co-presenter Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy presented the CLE “Special Issues in Foreclosure Defense Work” at the Legal Services Task Force Trainings held online, with LLPP addressing tax and reverse mortgage foreclosures. Approximately 50 people attended.
- The LLPP created and staffed a virtual exhibit at the 2021 Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s (CFSA) Sustainable Agriculture Conference which ran from November 5 - 15, 2021. The LLPP reached out to 351 attendees. Of those, 113 received twelve LLPP-created written resources, inclusive of information sheets, multi-page brochures, and a handbook. The attorney staffing the exhibit also had 32 video and online discussions through the conference platform. The platform remained open through March 2022 and continued to generate connections between participants and the exhibit attorney.
- The LLPP also spoke online at the CFSA conference, co-presenting with a representative from N.C. State University Cooperative Extension and an attorney from Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard on “Land Use, Farm Transfers, & Asset Protection”, on Saturday, November 13, 2021. Topics included leases, entity formation, bankruptcy, land and business transfers, voluntary agricultural districts, and the present use value program. At least thirty-nine people were reached and as noted above, the session remained available.
- On November 16, 2021, the LLPP provided an invited online presentation with a question-and-answer session to twenty staff members of the N.C. Rural Center through their ongoing speaker series on equity. The LLPP addressed the history of Black land loss, the nature of heir property and its complications, approaches for simplifying title or managing heir property, partition actions and the Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act, and ways that some agencies have started to allow more access by heir property owners (USDA and FEMA). The recorded program also was made available to Center staff members who were unable to attend initially.
- On December 2 - 3, 2021, the LLPP exhibited in person at the N.C. Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and connected with 40 people, sharing a range of written materials. An LLPP attorney also presented on December 3 on the topic of heir property, reaching 100 attendees.
- Also on December 3, 2021, the LLPP spoke on the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act at the Federation of Southern Cooperative’s Forward 2022 online conference, reaching approximately 50 people.
- On December 15, 2021, an LLPP attorney spoke online on disaster preparedness and estate planning at the Walking in Many Worlds Conference offered by American Indian Mothers. Twenty-five people participated.
- December 2021 - Operation Spring Plant held a very informative Farmer-to-Farmer meeting via zoom to discuss topics of interest and concern to the farmers including on FSA loans and Farm programs. Information and technical assistance was provided on the FSA Heirs Property Relending Program for producers on heirs property farm land. (38 Farmers attended). The importance of addressing issues of heirs property was raised.
- On January 15, 2022, the LLPP presented “Cultivating a Solid Foundation" addressing farm business issues including foreclosure prevention and estate planning at the Operation Spring Plant 19th Annual Conference. Twenty people attended the virtual workshop.
- Also in January, Operation Spring Plant (OSP) held its Annual Conference on the 14th and 15th of the month via Zoom and 57 farmers attended the meeting. There were a range of topics covered. State offices of the NRCS and FSA participated in the Zoom meeting. The OSP made available Ten Ways to Save Your Land and on Heirs Property. (57 farmers attended)
- In March, the Farmer-to-Farmer meeting took a deeper dive into insurance products for farmers, with training on record keeping for filing of the Schedule F. Farmers discussed the how to address their heirs property issues.
- On February 3, 2022, Rural Advancement Fund of the National Sharecroppers Fund held a meeting in Orangeburg, SC orienting farmers on the “History of Agriculture and the roles that Black Farmers played in the Agriculture Development” from slave to sharecroppers, to landowner and how much of that land has been lost through a variety of mismanagement and unfair practices by individuals and the federal government attended by 26 farmers, ranchers and rural community members.
- On February 16, 2022, the LLPP participated in N.C. A & T University Cooperative Extension’s Small Farm 360 Leadership Initiative geared to BIPOC farmers through its virtual event. The LLPP session “Protecting Your Investment, Growing Your Farm Business” provided an introduction to the organization and our SmartGrowth Business Center and covered a range of topics central to farm business stability and growth. The LLPP addressed business entity formation; issues presented by heir property; succession planning; leasing; and healthy habits: contract review and recordkeeping. Opportunities and tools such as the Present-Use Value Program and the use of branding (for example, trademarks) were also highlighted. Twenty people participated.
- On February 24, 2022, Rural Advancement Fund of the National Sharecroppers Fund (RAF) held training sessions in Orangeburg, SC on record keeping on finance and production and why it is important to keeping your farm. Farmers were provided information and excel spreadsheet templates to use for recording financial information to use for tax preparation and understanding where they spend funds and on what and why it’s important to have good records either electronic or paper.
- March 9, Boley, Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project held meeting with the Langston University Advisory Committee on opportunities for Rural Communities. The issues of dormant land and heirs property were raised as critcal factors to address in community planning.
- The LLPP staffed a virtual exhibit at the 2022 Come to the Table Conference hosted by Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA from March 15 to March 16, 2022. Eighty-nine people engaged with the LLPP through visits and accessing written resources.
- On March 28, 2022, LLPP staffed an in-person exhibit at ENC Regional Church and Community Resiliency Collaborative event held at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center and hosted by Peletah Ministries in partnership with Healthier Together and NC Counts Coalition. Eighty-seven people visited the exhibit and 461 copies of LLPP written resources were distributed.
- On March 28, 2022, RAF held a training in Orangeburg, SC by a certified public accountant on what information needed to be used for filing your taxes to ensure you receive all the deductions you are allowed. Attendance was 48.
- In March-2022 Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project - Attended various calls through the month, on Mental Stress, Historical Investment in Rural America, Climate-Smart Commodities, America the Beautiful. Also attended various meeting with Rural Coalition about Climate-Smart opportunities.
- March 26-Met with Alvin Roberts and Milford Roberts on their farms. We talked about the scheduled field day on their farm.
Project Activities - Year Two
During Year Two of the project period, the Land Loss Prevention Project team engaged in the following producer/ landowner/ community support activities:
Outreach and Education: 1,331 individuals participated in one virtual and 17 in-person workshops, including 769 Farmers/ homeowner farmers/ farmers (including small-acreage farmers)/ landowners/ community leaders and members; 75 Senior and disabled homeowners, caregivers and service providers; 75 Legal practitioners and advocates for farmers and homeowners; 222 Local and statewide service providers in healthcare, emergency services, home restoration, agricultural services, education, law; 90 Conservation finance, agency and philanthropic leaders; and 100 Students and academics in agriculture, law and conservation. Over 2,972 copies of written materials were distributed, with topics addressed including:
- Heir property, foreclosure process/ special considerations for heir property owners, partition, wills, estate and succession planning, types of land ownership, forming a limited liability company, LLPP services;
- Farm stabilization, foreclosure prevention, recordkeeping, Chapter 13 bankruptcy
- Land tenure and methods to retain land, present use value taxation and appeal process, delinquent taxes, zoning
- Farm business entity formation, leases, business law solutions, negotiating and structuring contracts and other agreements to advance farm businesses (principles, legal issues, best practices), branding/ trademarking, SmartGrowth Business Center services
- Cooperatives – planning, structuring, operating cooperatively
- Disaster preparedness/ relief/ recovery
- Title investigation and “how to” exercises
- Forestland owner survey conducted
- Policy: 2018 Farm Bill provisions, American Rescue Plan Act, Heirs Property Relending Program, Inflation Reduction Act, State and Federal pandemic recovery programs/ resources, Section 22007/ Discrimination Financial Assistance Program, NC Homeowner Assistance Fund and Uniform Partition of Heir Property Act
- Heirs Property Certifications
- Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project:
- 2 OBHRPI members acquired certification in Heirs Property from Alcorn
- One staff member completed The Train the Trainer Program to help address the growing Heirs Property Initiative in Oklahoma.
- Rural Coalition – 2 Staff members completed Alcorn Training
- Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project:
Legal and Technical Assistance: Over the course of Year Two, LLPP handled 350 legal matters for farmers and landowners in 73 of the 100 North Carolina counties. These included: 72 lending and finance-related matters, including debt restructuring, consumer issues, and foreclosure defense, including bankruptcy; 79 real property matters such as adverse possession, boundary disputes and heirs property; 20 agricultural business issues including rural economic development, incorporation, tax-exempt status support, land use, environmental issues and miscellaneous matters such as tenancy; 23 civil and individual rights matters, including issues involving the USDA; and support to 156 individuals/families on preparing wills and estate planning. The Legal and technical assistance preserved land, homes and farms with a tax value of $2,894,621, retaining critical assets for families in need and protecting farms and agricultural businesses.
The LLPP and our SmartGrowth Business Center provided outreach and education to client and professional communities, covering a variety of its practice areas. Written educational material addressing a range of land retention and utilization issues affecting farmers, homeowners, and landowners was created, updated and distributed by LLPP. Topics included organizational services, property interest preservation options, understanding land tenure, heir property, LLC formation, and programs available to producers. In 2022, through outreach events for producers, LLPP raised awareness and understanding of the Inflation Reduction Act provisions concerning the USDA and addressing debt relief and farm loan discrimination and sharing ongoing developments as the USDA shaped those efforts internally going forward. Presentation and outreach activities are described in detail in the chart below.
Supporting Models: Based on input from producers involved in the Discover Phase, and through additional outreach efforts, we have heard clearly that there is great interest in growing the types and scale of cooperative models of ownership, land access, food production, marketing and distribution, and more. The LLPP has expanded its participation in community-centered and driven sustainable development of urban land within the land trust framework and is participating in a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-led collective working to advance widespread land retention and resident control in an underserved area of the state. LLPP has been engaged with a cooperative of approximately 260 members which is working to establish a grocery store and meeting space involving farmers, workers, and residents from an underserved area within a N.C. city. The group is committed to increasing access to food that is both affordable and healthy and providing a collective system of support for and through the hub.
Additional services provided include assisting a regional agriculturally-focused non-profit with creating operational documents and counseling on requirements; developing a range of land use agreements; assisting a community farm addressing food security and cultural preservation within an underserved population in examining options for future expansion and land stability (examples: long-term lease, land purchase); engaging with a collaborative living and farming collective as they explore business entity options and non-profit structure to advance land sovereignty and sustainability; and working with multiple families in formulating a land management and consolidation plan for heir property to maintain land tenure.
Informing Policy: While continuing to work with collaborators on identifying and supporting policies that address heirs property challenges, we also assisted policy collaborators in bringing to fruition the ARP land access program, building on the information gathered during the Discover Phase of this project, and decades of experience working with underserved producers and landowners. As described by USDA, the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access (Increasing Land Access) Program helps underserved producers "by increasing land, capital, and market access. The program funds cooperative agreements or grants for projects that help move underserved producers from surviving to thriving.
In 2023, vulnerable farmers confronted rapidly expanding severe and extreme drought, destructive storms, and rising economic pressures. Stabilizing and bolstering businesses, supporting generational land tenure, and catalyzing and ensuring access to programs, services, and capital was foundational to the work. Our multi-front strategy encompassing agriculturalist connection to local, state, and federal opportunities and building pathways to supportive resources for farmers was further expanded and particularly critical to uphold the livelihoods and legacy of North Carolina’s limited resourced and BIPOC families.
A Sampling of Year Two Success Stories
Throughout 2022, vulnerable farmers were continuing to weather pandemic fallout; compounding multi-year losses from previous sequential hurricanes and a tropical storm; the summer’s drought; and escalating expenses. Stabilizing and bolstering businesses, supporting generational land tenure, and catalyzing and ensuring access to programs, services, and capital was foundational to the work. Our multi-front strategy encompassing agriculturalist connection to local, state, and federal opportunities and building pathways to supportive resources for farmers was further expanded and particularly critical to statewide change to uphold the livelihoods and legacy of North Carolina’s limited resourced and BIPOC families
LLPP attorneys provide tailored legal advice on a variety of matters connected with the retention of land resources. Our legal team represents those individuals and families that cannot afford to hire private attorneys and fill a gap to serve those individuals that can utilize the legal tools to protect land ownership.
Each client matter is unique and with specific issues, but the following list contains a number of representative cases.
- Mortgage foreclosure matters with heir property owners. LLPP attorneys work with family members when the original borrower has passed away and the family is trying to protect the home and catch up payments on a mortgage. LLPP is usually contacted after a foreclosure has been filed in court and we provide legal representation in the court process while working with the family to be recognized by the lender.
- Tax foreclosure matters with heir property owners. Similar to mortgage foreclosure matters, LLPP attorneys represent heir property owners that are attempting to enter into a payment plan with the local municipal taxing entity (county or city property taxes). Representation in these matters occurs both before and after legal action has been initiated, but staff attorneys are able to respond in all stages of the process.
- Partition Defense: LLPP represents family members that wish to retain ownership of land and defend against property sales when requested in partitions.
- Family Entity Formation: LLPP attorneys work directly with heir property owners to understand who owns the land when the ownership has become fractionated. LLPP provides educational material and attends family meetings with heir owners. We also provide advice to the family once they pass into a secondary stage and are considering consolidating ownership of the property by forming an LLC or trust.
- Estate planning: LLPP assists individuals to prepare estate planning documents such as wills, general powers of attorney, and health care powers of attorney. LLPP also held a wills and estate planning workshop in the fall of 2022. We provided, at no cost, the preparation of wills and health care powers of attorney for low income residents in Chapel Hill in conjunction with a community based nonprofit. We were also able to work with the Black Law Students Association of the Carolina Law School to enable students to gain practical experience working with elders.
- LLPP attorneys also provide general advice on property law matters such as easements and boundary disputes.
Outreach and Education Events April 2022 – March 2023
|
Event Date |
Other Partners |
Event/Venue |
Location |
Target audience |
# Participating |
Topics |
|
4/21/2022 |
NCBA Zoning, Planning, Land Use Section |
online presentation of “Assisting Heir Property Owners: Challenges and Opportunities” at 2022 NCBA Zoning, Planning, Land Use Section CLE |
online |
advocates |
75 (sum is both online and live that day) |
Heir property, foreclosure, partition, succession planning, business law solutions (e.g. entity formation), 2018 Farm Bill provisions, American Rescue Plan Act |
|
5/6/2022 |
NC Cooperative Extension, NC State University |
Presentation “Land Title and Transfers” at Franklin County Land Summit |
NC Cooperative Extension meeting room, 103 S. Bickett Blvd., Louisburg, NC |
homeowner farmers |
40 attendees, 30 copies of written resources distributed |
Presentation topics: business entity formation, heir property issues; leases; farm stabilization; foreclosure prevention |
|
6/20/2022 |
host: Peletah Ministries in partnership with Healthier Together and NC Counts Coalition |
spoke on resource panel and staffed in-person exhibit at the ENC Regional Church and Community Resiliency Collaborative II Outreach |
New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, 203 S. Front St., New Bern, N.C. 28560 |
homeowners and local and statewide service providers in healthcare, emergency services, home restoration, agricultural services, education, and law |
175 people visited staffed exhibit and 665 copies of LLPP written resources were distributed |
Written resource material addressing: LLPP services; business entity formation; foreclosure prevention; estate and succession planning; issues associated with heir property; record keeping; land tenure and methods in detail to retain property |
|
7/27/2022 |
American Agricultural Law Association |
American Agricultural Law Association webinar presentation |
online |
service providers for farmer homeowners |
108 |
Heir property, foreclosure, partition, succession planning, business law solutions (e.g. entity formation), 2018 Farm Bill provisions, American Rescue Plan Act |
|
7/28/2022 |
Law Firm Antiracism Alliance |
small group presentation at meeting of Housing and Homeownership working group of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance |
online |
service providers |
11 |
Heir property, foreclosure, partition, succession planning, business law solutions (e.g. entity formation), 2018 Farm Bill provisions, American Rescue Plan Act |
|
8/29/2022 |
USDA, Operation Spring Plant (for meeting) |
presentation at farmer outreach meeting |
Barksdale farm, 94 Barksdale Lane, Faison, NC 28341 |
farmer homeowners |
40 |
Types of land ownership such as heir property, challenges (foreclosure etc.), business entity formation, Heirs Property Relending Program, Inflation Reduction Act |
|
9/15/2022 |
Financial Protection Law Center, North Carolina Justice Center, Pisgah Legal Services |
"Tools and Strategies for Helping Lower-Income Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure or Home Loss as They Grapple with Post-Pandemic Economic Turmoil" CLE presentation at N.C. Legal Services Conference |
online |
service providers, client community representatives |
103 |
N.C. and Federal pandemic recovery programs, Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Zombie mortgages (homeowner concentration) |
|
9/19/2022 |
USDA, Operation Spring Plant |
Connecting with USDA officials and programs |
Louisburg, NC |
farmers |
42 |
LLPP services, including Smart Growth Business Center and legal assistance |
|
11/2-3, 2022 |
Conservation Finance Roundtable |
Heir Property panel discussion |
21c Museum Hotel Durham - 111 North Corcoran Street - Durham, NC 27701, hosted by Conservation Finance Network |
Conservation finance practitioners, environmental funders, conservation agency professionals and leaders |
90 |
Challenges that heir property owners face in accessing public and private dollars/ technical assistance/ programs to conserve land; additional challenges in managing forestlands (e.g. inability to enter into contracts for pre-commercial thinning); and potential remedies for addressing heir property status |
|
11/5/2022-11/6/2022 |
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association |
staffed exhibit at 37th Sustainable Agriculture Conference and presented workshop “From Negotiation to Contract: Crafting Solid Agreements to Protect Your Business” |
Durham Convention Center, 301 W. Morgan St, Durham, N.C. 27701 |
farmer homeowners |
120 visited staffed booth; 30 attended presentation |
Workshop presentation: negotiating, crafting contracts to advance farm businesses (contract types and structures, contracting principles, legal issues, and best practices); issues addressed through staffed exhibit and written resource materials: open farm days; present use value program; cooperatives; foreclosure prevention; estate and succession planning; land tenure and methods in detail to retain property; issues associated with heir property |
|
12/8/2022- 12/9/2022 |
N.C. Department of Agriculture |
staffed exhibit at N.C. Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference |
The Southeastern N.C. Agricultural Events Center, 1027 U.S. Highway 74 East, Lumberton, N.C. 28358 |
farmer homeowners |
97 visited staffed booth and 471 copies of written resource material were distributed |
Written resource material addressing: LLPP services; open farm days; present use value program; business entity formation; cooperatives; foreclosure prevention; estate and succession planning; issues associated with heir property; land tenure and methods in detail to retain property |
|
2/20/23 |
Peletah Institute for Building Resilient Communities |
presentation at the Peletah ENC Regional Hope and Resiliency Collaborative event |
Biblical House of God, 906 George St., New Bern, NC 28560 |
landowners, homeowners |
110 people attended; 65 packets of written material distributed |
Presentation on heir property, foreclosure (including tax), and estate planning; collection of written materials addressed estate planning, heir property, foreclosure prevention and also included booklet “Ten Ways to Save Your Land” (land tenure and methods in detail to retain property) |
|
2/24/23 |
UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health |
staffed exhibit at UNC 44th Annual Minority Health Conference |
Friday Continuing Education Center, 100 Friday Center Dr., Chapel Hill, NC 27517 |
students, academics, and community members |
50 people visited exhibit; 99 copies of written material distributed |
Written materials addressing: disaster relief, estate planning, heir property, foreclosure prevention |
|
3/2/2023 |
NCSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences honors class |
small group presentation at NCSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences |
NC State University Campus, Raleigh, NC 27695-7601 |
student agriculturalists |
12 |
Presentation addressing historical land challenges, heir property, partition, American Rescue Plan Act, Inflation Reduction Act, 2018 Farm Bill
|
|
3/6/2023 |
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association |
staffed exhibit at Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Organic Commodities and Livestock Conference |
McKimmon Conference and Training Center, 1101 Gorman St, Raleigh, NC 27606 |
farmers, service providers |
approx. 95 people accessed exhibit; 95 copies of written resources distributed |
Written resource material addressing: LLPP services; open farm days; present use value program; business entity formation; cooperatives; foreclosure prevention; estate and succession planning; issues associated with heir property; land tenure and methods in detail to retain property |
|
3/21/2023 |
Wake Forest University School of Law |
small group presentation at Wake Forest School of Law agricultural/ food law class |
Wake Forest School of Law, 1834 Wake Forest Rd., Winston-Salem, NC 27109 |
students, academics |
20 |
Presentation addressed historical land issues; heir property; assistance for heir property owners; 2018 Farm Bill provisions, American Rescue Plan Act; Inflation Reduction Act |
|
3/25/2023 |
Chatham County Center, N.C. Cooperative Extension |
staffed exhibit at Chatham County Spring Ag Fest |
Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center, 1192 US 64 Business West, Pittsboro, NC 27312 |
farmer homeowners; homeowners; community members |
75 people visited exhibit; 318 copies of written resources distributed
|
Written resource material addressing: LLPP services; open farm days; present use value program; business entity formation; cooperatives; foreclosure prevention; estate and succession planning; issues associated with heir property; land tenure and methods in detail to retain property |
|
3/28/2023 |
Cooperative Extension at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University |
presentation at N.C. A & T's Small Farms Week |
CAES Extension and Research Farm Pavilion, University Farm, 3020 McConnell Road, Greensboro, NC 27401 |
farmer homeowners |
50 people attended presentation; 329 copies of written resources distributed |
Presentation addressed business entity formation; issues presented by heir property; succession planning; leasing; and healthy habits: contract review and recordkeeping. Opportunities and tools such as the Present-Use Valuation Program and the use of branding (for example, trademarks) were highlighted. Written material addressing: LLPP services; open farm days; present use value program; business entity formation; foreclosure prevention; estate and succession planning; issues associated with heir property; land tenure and methods in detail to retain property |
|
3/30/2023
|
Catawba College |
live online small group presentation to Catawba College conservation class |
online |
students, conservationists |
18 |
Presentation addressed historical land issues; heir property; assistance for heir property owners; 2018 Farm Bill provisions; land trusts cooperatives; American Rescue Plan Act; Inflation Reduction Act |
Partner Activities
- April 2022 – Guide to Addressing Heirs Property, authored by Rural Coalition and LLPP is published by Southern Rural Development Center - see A-Guide-to-Addressing-Heirs-Property_Final.pdf
- In 2022, RC held 24 member meetings engaging an average of 35 individual TA providers and CBO leaders, who conducted activities that reached farmers, ranchers, farmworkers as well as rural and timberland in the target populations.
- Co-principal investigators and their staff provided remote and in-person support for USDA Technical Assistance events with TA and legal support sessions
- July 25, 2022 – Orangeburg County Young Farmers meeting – Orangeburg, SC. We covered the following topics: deeds, wills, taxes, liens, foreclosures, heirs’ property. Participants were provided information in the following areas: 1. Knowing your rights as a landowner, 2. Understanding the common problems landowners face, 3. Take actions to avoid the common problems landowners face, 4. Plan a family meeting and make a family plan for your farm, and 5. Seek professional advice.
- RC Farmer Calls (October 19, Dec. 24th) related to Land Tenure, Succession and Encumbrances prepared for in person and virtual participation of over 30 producers on each call.
- November 28, 2022 Meeting: “Veterans Farmers and Ranchers” Meeting with local veterans (farmers and ranchers) information on preference they are eligible to receive from USDA programs. Information included:
- Veterans receive preference and higher payment rates for certain NRCS conservation programs that offered in the 2018 Farm Bill
- Financial assistance provided through the Environmental Quality Incentive (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship (CSP) programs
- EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits
- CSP help agricultural producers maintain and improve their existing conservation systems
- Veterans Farmers and Ranchers may also quality as a socially disadvantaged farmer or ranchers
- There were nineteen participants attending the workshop, at Orangeburg Area Boys & Girls Club Orangeburg, SC.
- November 28, 2022 – Planning meeting on to prepare for Heirs Property training with Southern Rural Development Center, Rural Coalition, LLPP and other partners on outreach and next issues to address.
- November 29-30, 2022 – Understanding Heirs Property at the Community Level – RC and LLPP participated in a workshop for extension professionals to help educate individuals, families, and community leaders on the basics of heirs’ property, including what it is, how to prevent it, and some considerations in resolving issues. This train-the-trainer approach provided clear guidance on the appropriate roles for Extension professionals in this realm, and where Extension should serve as a referral agent (such as when legal guidance is needed). RC and LLPP team members and partners also participated and met together. (7 Participants from our teams) (Atlanta, GA)
- January 19-20, 2023 – Rural Coalition Winter Forum, Washington DC, including presentations of research reports and education on heirs property. 250 Participants.
Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project held the following in person meetings which each included a workshop on how to gather and prepare documents for an attorney when seeking a will:
- 7/22/2023 Community Outreach Meeting Dover, Oklahoma (34) attendee-4hrs
- 8/12/2023 Oklahoma All-Black Towns State Conf. Oklahoma City, OK-(97) attendee-8hrs
- 8/26/2023 Multi-County Community Outreach Mtg. Inola, Oklahoma-(29) attendee-7hrs
- 9/7/2023 Community Outreach Meeting Grayson, Oklahoma (22) attendee 3hrs
- 9/9/2023 Community Outreach Meeting Clearview, Oklahoma (28) attendee-7hrs
- 9/14/2023 Community Outreach Meeting Boley, Oklahoma (46) attendee-6hrs
- 9/16/2023 Community Outreach Meeting Idabel, Oklahoma (16) attendee-6hrs
- 9/21/2023 Community Outreach Meeting Bristow, Oklahoma (66) attendee-4hrs
- 9/30/2023 Community Outreach Meeting Rentiesville, Oklahoma (16) attendee-6hrs
- 10/7/2023 Community Outreach Meeting Wewoka, Oklahoma- 106 attendee-8hrs
- 10/14/2023 Multi-Community Outreach Meeting Metro Tech, OKC, OK (185) attendees
- 10/27-28/2023 Black Mayors Summit Oklahoma City, OK (97) attendees
- 11/17-18/2023 Small Farms Conference Oklahoma City, OK (165) attendees
Total: These meetings have been held with a total attendance of 285 Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers, Mayors, agriculture professionals, and rural residents.