About Us
Farmers Representing Farmers
Attorney Wendell Hoskins II understands the legal issues and needs of farmers because he is a farmer himself. After graduating with honors from Ole Miss, Wendell worked five years with a highly-respected firm in the Mississippi Delta serving the needs of crop insurance companies and herbicide companies. Armed with this professional knowledge and experience, Wendell returned to his boyhood home in the Missouri Bootheel to join his father in growing their family farm operation to over 6,000 acres.
As the family farm grew, so too did Wendell’s legal practice that was focused on representing America’s farmers in a host of legal disputes, including the denial of crop insurance indemnity, crop injury due to herbicide drift and misapplication and the denial of USDA benefits from FSA and NRCS.
“I always preferred to represent David against the Goliath. I’ve seen how big agribusiness and their law firms try to overpower and out maneuver farmers in courtrooms and arbitration hearings where the farmer is less familiar with the process. I’ve seen these battles from both sides, and I know how to win.”
Wendell is licensed to practice in the state and federal courts of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, but has handled ag-related legal disputes in more than forty (40) states over the last 28 years. With a network of local attorneys around the country, Wendell is routinely admitted to practice pro hac vice, or for the limited purpose of handling a particular farmer’s dispute in a particular court if trial by court or jury is available.
Because most crop insurance disputes are subject to mandatory arbitration (i.e., trial before an arbitrator, not a jury or jury), Wendell can offer his specialized knowledge to clients throughout the country. “I have had the honor of representing macadamia nut producers in Hawaii to corn farmers in New York to peach farmers in the Carolinas to nursery crop growers in Florida to cotton and rice farmers in South Texas to alfalfa and citrus growers in California – and a host of crops and states in between.”
Although we give our clients the choice of an hourly fee structure, in almost all of our crop insurance and crop injury cases, we accept representation on a contingent fee basis – which means the client pays nothing unless he wins. “There is no stronger vote of confidence that I can offer than my willingness to accept payment for my services and recoupment of my out-of-pocket expenses only if we win – my success is tied directly to your success.”
And Wendell has been successful: He has recovered millions of dollars in unpaid crop insurance indemnity and lost crop revenue for farmers all over the country.
In 2020 alone, Wendell recovered more than $6,000,000 in crop insurance indemnity for clients
whose claims had been denied outright by the private crop insurance companies selling federally-reinsured crop insurance.
“We have the resources available to take the fight to the crop insurance companies and the herbicide companies and win.” An avid general aviation enthusiast, Wendell prefers to meet his clients on their own farms to get a true sense of the issues involved the best strategy for winning. “I am blessed with a comfortable office and a wonderful staff, but I like to be able put my boot heel in the turn row.”
“There is no substitute for being in the field – it’s where most of my clients feel most comfortable. I cannot tell their story if I don’t know their story. Most of my clients’ farming operations, like my own, are located far from a commercial airport. I have my own plane, and I can fly directly into most municipal airports without commercial bookings, connections and delays – often within a day or two of our initial telephone contact.”
And with 28 years of experience, Wendell has cultivated a large network of well- respected expert witnesses, including agronomists and veterans of the crop insurance industry. “These professionals give us keen insight into the issues raised and provide essential testimony at trial and arbitration. In a battle of experts, you cannot afford to be unarmed.”
If you have a question or concern about your crop insurance, your FSA or NRCS benefits, or injury to your crop due to herbicide drift or misapplication, call us for a free consultation.
