The Farm Transfer Network of New England

	Loraine M. Della Porta, Deputy Director
Address	Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution UMass Boston 100 Morrissey Boulevard M-1-627 Boston, MA 02125
Phone	617-287-4048
Fax	617-287-4049
Email	loraine.dellaporta@umb.edu
Website	n/a
State(s) where we work	Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire
Areas of expertise	Family communications, goal setting and assessment
Other information about our organization	The Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution (MODR) is a free standing Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston which provides alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services. MODR can provide mediation and other dispute resolution services at little or no cost to the agricultural community. Mediation is a voluntary, confidential and flexible process in which a mediator facilitates dialogue and assists with negotiations between two or more disputing parties. Agreements reached in mediation are typically more satisfying to all involved because the parties themselves take the lead in deterimining the outcome. Unlike typical litigation, mediation helps to preserve ongoing relationships between the parties. This is especially important when family members are disputing. MODR mediation services are provided by a panel of highly qualified and experienced mediators who have backgrounds and training in a variety of agriculture-related issues including, agriculture credit, environmental, land-use, family farm, farmer/neighbor relations, financial counseling, business planning, meeting facilitation, community convening, consensus building, and Right to Farm issues. For more information or to request services, contact Loraine M. Della Porta, Agricultural Mediation Program Director at 617-287-4040.