State mediation programs assist agricultural producers, their creditors, and other persons directly affected by the actions of the USDA to resolve disputes, thereby reducing participants' costs associated with administrative appeals, litigation, and bankruptcy. The USDA Mediation Program gives farmers and ranchers a confidential way to work out distressed or delinquent loans.
Agricultural mediation is a way of settling disputes within a producer's own means.
The program provides a neutral mediator who can sit down with the parties or work on the phone to resolve very problematic issues. Instead of years it can take for a case to filter through the courts, mediation generally takes only a few meetings to complete. A critical feature of mediation is confidentiality in working out differences concerning farmers' and ranchers' business operations. Mediation documents are not to be used for any other legal action. This is one of the key requirements for state mediation certification.