Tammy Baldwin: “Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection was created to help farmers in crisis keep their family farms. The farm bill includes a…”

“Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection was created to help farmers in crisis keep their family farms. The farm bill includes a provision added by the other body to make Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code permanent. By accepting this Senate provision, we can finally ensure that our farmers have this important protection permanently in place. Bankruptcy generally requires liquidation of real property rather than reorganization if debtors have significant assets. Of course, for family farmers, this means that their farm equipment and other assets often disqualify them for reorganization under Chapter 11 or 13, and they are forced into Chapter 7 liquidation. Chapter 12 allows these family farmers to keep essential farm assets and reorganize their debts. With planting season just beginning, farmers need to know how now that they can reorganize and keep their farms. Farmers in Wisconsin and around the Nation are in stress, duress, and crisis. A dairy farmer from Belleville in my district called me about this issue just the other day. He has been in farming, like his dad before him, most of his life. He milks 70 cows to make his living. Milk prices have remained low for most of the time he has been in farming, and now milk prices are reaching historic lows again. He simply cannot stay in business because he is losing money. He is scared he is going to lose his farm to his creditors and let his family down.”