We are going to rent out our farmground. The person who will be
farming it wants us to sign a USDA Form FSA-211 labeled "Power of
Attorney". Our question is could we by signing this document lose control of the
land to the goverment, to a bank, to anyone by a mistake, a gamble, or
any action by our renter if we grant him power of attorney on this
document?

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 26 Jan 2005 09:02 PST

This may be a legitmate request on the part of the renter, but it's
hard to know for sure.

The FSA-211 form ONLY grants power of attorney with respect to the
specific USDA programs identified on the form (e.g. the Peanut Quota
Buy Out program).  If you are not making use of these programs
yourself, it may be the case that your renter wants to do so, and
needs the FSA-211 to take advantage of them.

HOWEVER...I am not an attorney, and you certainly shouldn't sign
anything without being very clear on the consequences.  I'm sure there
are contact people at USDA who could advise you in more detail on this
matter.

Would pointers towards the right contacts at USDA be an acceptable
answer to your question?  If so, please let me know where your are
(state and city) so I can put you in touch with local assistance.

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by hultec-ga on 27 Jan 2005 18:31 PST

I know where the USDA is in our area and have talked to them. They
tell me it's a normal procedure but won't give me an answer as to
whether I could possibly be liable for the programs my renter would be
using. My renter will use whatever program he can qualify for, will
any of these programs result in the loss of our land or in our owing
the government money? It boils down to can the government through
these programs penalize us to the extent of fines or loss of our land?
We have talked to two lawyers, one says don't sign and the other says
it's normal procedure but that we should still keep and eye on the
situation. Can you tell us if there is anyone out there who has had
problems due to these government programs or anyone we can talk to
about this problem.

I wouldn't sign anything like that without the advise of a
professional attorny in a face to face meeting.