Get Up to Speed: Potential Laws for You, Your Farm, Your Business
Call your Iowa State Senator by February 20 The bulk of our work at Ag & Business Legal Strategies is focused on helping farmers navigate complex court processes in bankruptcy, as well as laws and regulations that affect their livelihood. But our attorneys also devote time and expertise to working with state and federal legislators to try improving laws that govern these, as well. Ultimately, lawmakers serve you, the people. So from time to time, we like to update you on pending or potential legislation that could impact your daily life at some point so that you may reach out to your elected representative and share your opinion. File the first two items in this article under “Needs Attention NOW.” Updating for inflation in Iowa Last year we worked with an Iowa state lawmaker on draft legislation to better assist farmers and other small business owners seeking debt solutions by updating Iowa’s exemption laws for inflation. We explained what that means, and how it would help struggling parties protect more of their property, in this article. That legislation was introduced in the Iowa Senate last month and was assigned to a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee. Not only would it bring up to date long-overlooked indexing, going forward it would require periodic indexing every three years. The subcommittee has recommended that the main Committee vote Senate File 2054 out to the full Senate for debate and consideration. Here is what’s needed: If the Judiciary Committee does not vote on this by February 20, 2026 (later this week, as of this publication), it will become much more difficult to get the bill to the Senate floor for a vote this year—if at all. If you’re in favor of fair protection for debtors while supporting economic recovery in the debt reorganization/bankruptcy process, contact your State Senator TODAY and ask that the Committee vote on S.F. 2054 by February 20. If you don’t know your Senator, find them here. ABCs of business liquidation In addition to farmers, we also advise small business owners. Section 681 of Iowa Code governs assignment for benefit of creditors, commonly referred to in legal circles as ABC. The concept has been around for centuries, crossing from common law of England to the U.S., and allows a failing business to close efficiently and the owner(s) to maintain credibility by liquidating assets to pay its creditors. This process happens largely outside of court supervision, saving court expenses and potential time delays related to oversight. Used efficiently, ABC lets a business owner transfer its assets to a neutral third party, whose job is to sell them and recover the best prices to pay creditors. When the state enacted its current ABC laws in Iowa Code Chapter 681 more than a century ago, it imposed significant court oversight and bonding requirements. The bond requirement has historically proven onerous and expensive, crippling this tool—in fact, the last case we can find using this was in 1949. Because ABC liquidation can be a more affordable alternative to bankruptcy when a business owner is not trying to reorganize to stay in business, we have been working with Iowa legislators to overhaul this state law. Senate File 2213 would do that, repealing Section 681 and replacing it with more modern, uniform language recently drafted and also under consideration in other states. UPDATE: The Governor signed the final bill, SF 2497, into law on June 2, 2026 As with the above-mentioned S.F. 2054, this bill has been recommended by the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee for passage, so the full Committee can take it up for consideration. It too must be voted on by February 20, or it may be difficult-to-impossible for the full Senate to vote on this year. Contact your State Senator to request a Committee vote before February 20. Protect farmer safety, legal relief Recent approval of the use of dicamba herbicide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) puts us in mind of an effort from the past two years, in Iowa, to nullify farmers’ rights to sue for relief if harmed by pesticides. In 2024 and 2025, the Iowa Senate voted twice to approve a bill that stated if the EPA approves registration of a pesticide under the federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, that “shall be sufficient to satisfy any requirements for a warning or labeling regarding health or safety” for its use. And twice, the Iowa House refused to make it law. Although we are not aware of any effort yet so far this year to revive the bill, it’s never a bad idea to get out ahead of potential action and let your legislators know that you are not in favor of taking away a farmer’s right to sue for injury from something they may be required to handle on a regular basis. Why it matters: Several years ago, Ag & Business Legal Strategies had a client who grew very sick and nearly died when he was mixing a pesticide and some landed on his skin. It turned out that in the 1980s this chemical had contained a “loud” dye so the user could more easily see if it was applied or spilled, and caused it to sting so the user could wash it off promptly. By the early 2000s, however, the dye and warning sting had been eliminated. The Eighth Circuit Court ruled this elimination a design defect that was an exception to how the EPA had registered the pesticide, and the farmer prevailed. EPA registration of a pesticide is predicated on how well it works for your crops, which has nothing to do with how safe it may be to use. Manufacturers and others will argue lawsuits raise the price or make approval a longer process. We ask: At what price do you really need those chemicals if they’re not going to be safe for everyday handling and exposure? Federal bankruptcy goals Next month, Ag & Business Legal Strategies Founding Attorney Joe Peiffer is headed to Washington, D.C.,
Austin Peiffer Selected to Participate in National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Appellate Advocacy Skills Workshop
Media Contact: Allison Miller, allison@blnkpg.com or 317.966.1339 HIAWATHA, Iowa (July 22, 2024) — Just 16 bankruptcy attorneys from across the nation will participate in the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges’ (NCBJ) Appellate Advocacy Skills Workshop this fall. Among them is Austin Peiffer, Associate Attorney with Ag & Business Legal Strategies (ABLS). The NCBJ’s Annual Meeting September 18-20, which includes this Workshop, provides a variety of high-quality educational programs for attorneys and other legal professionals, featuring judges, academics and other experts addressing compelling bankruptcy issues. It will take place in Seattle, Wash. The Appellate Skills Workshop will focus on a hypothetical appeals case, requiring the eight 2-person attorney teams to present oral and written arguments before judges. This will be followed by meetings with one or more of the judges for detailed discussion and feedback. Paired with the networking and knowledge the 16 attorneys are sharing with one another, this is an exclusive opportunity to strengthen and inform their ongoing practice in bankruptcy law. Peiffer, who joined ABLS in 2020 and is licensed to practice in both Iowa and Missouri, previously clerked for the Honorable A. Benjamin Goldgar, Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Chicago. Prior to that, he earned his Juris Doctor from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, with a certificate in Business and Corporate Law. While in law school, he worked with its Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic and served as a judicial extern with the Honorable Charles E. Rendlen III of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He is the American College of Bankruptcy’s 2018 Distinguished Bankruptcy Law Student for the 8th Circuit. “The young attorneys taking part in this Appellate Skills Workshop are among the brightest in the country,” said Joe Peiffer, ABLS lead attorney and founder. “In the past four years, Austin has developed an excellent reputation for hard work and attention to detail. We at ABLS are extremely proud of his selection for this honor, and also of the work he does to help farmers and small business owners with their debt and bankruptcy problems every day.” “I’m honored and grateful to the NCBJ for providing me excellent learning and networking opportunities,” said Austin Peiffer. “I’m excited to visit Seattle, improve my written and oral appellate advocacy skills, learn at the excellent continuing legal education presentations, and connect with judges and my colleagues from across the country. I’m especially excited that one of the issues in the workshop is whether long-term lease obligations count toward bankruptcy eligibility debt limits, which is an issue that is directly relevant both for family farmers considering Chapter 12 bankruptcies and small businesses contemplating Chapter 11 Subchapter V bankruptcies. “I plan to bring these skills and lessons back to Iowa to continue helping ABLS’s clients deal with their bankruptcy and debt restructuring issues,” Peiffer added. The NCBJ’s mission is to promote the interests of U.S. bankruptcy judges to use their expertise on issues of bankruptcy law and procedure to improve administration of the bankruptcy system and to foster scholarship, collegiality and diversity among members of the bankruptcy bench and bar, and to provide opportunities for education and networking in the bankruptcy law community. About Ag & Business Legal Strategies Ag & Business Legal Strategies is an uncommon law firm focused on the intersection of law, agriculture, business and debt restructuring. Founding Attorney Joe Peiffer, who grew up on a hog and dairy farm, started ABLS in 2016 as a champion for family farms and small businesses, providing compassionate counsel on debt restructuring and bankruptcy. ABLS serves clients in Iowa and Illinois. To learn more, visit ablsonline.com or call 844.363.1641.
ABLS Saves Debtor Thousands, Receives Judge’s Compliments
Recently shareholder Joe Peiffer and associate Austin Peiffer went toe-to-toe with attorneys representing Farm Credit over that creditor’s exorbitant fee demand. While secured creditors often have the right to make the debtor pay their attorney fees, those fees must be reasonable, and in this case they weren’t. Judge Collins agreed, and by objecting to Farm Credit’s fees ABLS’s client saved over $65,000. Tons of Information Working on a tight deadline, the ABLS team analyzed hundreds of pages of time entries filed by Farm Credit’s attorneys. This analysis revealed numerous duplicate billings and, indeed, billing for things that were, in fact, unnecessary. One unique aspect of this case is that the debtor had five loans with Farm Credit. Farm Credit required that its attorneys bill each loan individually, generating five different sets of invoices for this work. This made the analysis even more tricky. Sometimes the exact same entry would appear on multiple bills. In order to ascertain the actual amount of time spent, the Judge and his team needed to review all five sets of invoices and compare them. In this comparison, they often found duplicates. A High Standard Judge Collins was complementary of ABLS’s approach to billing and fees: “The Court specifically notes that Debtor’s counsel, and his firm’s billing practices are very well known to the Court. The Court has reviewed and approved numerous fee applications from Debtor’s counsel–in both large and small cases. The Court has previously recognized that Debtor’s counsel is incredibly thorough, detail-oriented, and well-prepared. This has earned Debtor’s counsel a stellar reputation in Chapter 12 cases, but that thorough approach pushes up the cost of his services.” Judge Collins also noted that Farm Credit’s counsel and the law firm, “also have an excellent reputation for excellence in this type of work.” This makes evident His Honor’s respect for the members of the bar that practice in front of him. Furthermore, this opinion illustrates the high standard that he requires in this district. You can read the whole opinion here: Kurtenbach (Debtor) Opinion. The opinion also caught the attention of columnist Bill Rochelle. He wrote about the opinion in his daily blog “Rochelle’s Daily Wire” on the ABI website (ABI membership required to bypass paywall). Ag & Business Legal Strategies is a law firm that works strenuously to defend its clients’ interests. Operating often in the debtor-creditor sphere, ABLS has positioned its professionals uniquely to understand their clients’ needs and work to obtain the desired results.
Crisis Resources
Farming is good honest work, but it can be stressful and bad situations can feel overwhelming. Crisis may be as close as next harvest, or a bank not renewing the crop note. If you’re feeling like you don’t have what it takes to keep going, ask for help; there are resources available to people just like you. You don’t have to deal with the crisis on your own. Here are some resources that may be helpful: Iowa Concern Hotline: 1-800-447-1985 Iowa Concern started in 1985 as a toll-free number serving the agricultural community. Today, Iowa Concern serves urban and rural Iowa. https://www.extension.iastate.edu/iowaconcern/ Availability: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Mobile Crisis Outreach: Call, or text, 1-855-800-1239. Availability to call, or text: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Mobile Crisis Outreach serves East Central Iowa and it is offered free of charge. You can also talk with Mobile Crisis Outreach online, https://foundation2.org/mobile-crisis-outreach/. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free, confidential emotional support for people in suicidal, or emotional distress. https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. Availability: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you know of other resources that we should list here, please drop us a line using the contact form here: https://www.ablsonline.com/contact/