Rural tradition influences specialist mediation service for farming sector

AN old rural custom has been turned into a new specialist mediation and arbitration service for the farming and rural sectors.

There was always a person in practically every rural district in the past with knowledge of the law, money matters, veterinary and other issues.

Some of these people, who were noted for their pragmatic commonsense approach when giving advice on problems, became known as hob lawyers when legal issues arose. Now, a new company, Agrisolve, has turned that tradition into a professional and confidential dispute resolution service in relation to family issues or difficulties between farmers and state, banking or commercial institutions.

It is operated by Tom Cannon and John Kane, both with strong involvement in farming in Meath and Wicklow. Mr Cannon is former agricultural officer with the RDS and Mr Kane, who has wide experience in dispute resolution, previously worked with the Deptartment of Agriculture. Both have extensive training in mediation and are fellows of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Mr Cannon said mediation and arbitration offer a quick, private resolution of a dispute, avoiding an expensive legal and public process. Research has shown when parties come to the table in a mediation process over 90% lead to agreement.

“It is important to choose the correct dispute resolution process so that you increase chances of resolving issues at hand.”