Don’t forget that tomorrow I will be moderating a local food law CLE for the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm (“GP Solo”) Division’s Agriculture Law Committee titled  ”Counseling the Local Food Movement:  What a Practitioner Should Know”  discussing procurement laws for local food, direct farm marketing (farmers markets, CSA’s), Food Safety Modernization Act exemptions, Cottage Food Operation Laws, insurance, premise and product liability, agri-tourism, land use & zoning concerns for urban agriculture (including rooftop gardens, backyard chickens, and beekeeping), food labeling (including the National Organic Program), and raw milk.

Are you a law student?  Check out this amazing discounted rate.

I took this photo several years ago when I interned on Capitol Hill for the Hon. Kevin Brady (R-TX). I always look forward to being back in Washington, D.C.

I will be speaking at the 2012 Animal Agriculture Alliance (“AAA”) Stakeholders Summit next month in Washington, D.C. on livestock animal welfare law.  More specifically, I will be presenting on May 3rd  during the “Legal Workshop” part of the program.

The title of the presentation is “When Activists Come Calling – Know Your Rights.”  I will give an overview of livestock animal welfare law, preventative measures for farms and ranches, and some general guidance on how to react to allegations of animal abuse from animal welfare organizations and/or government officials.  Furthermore, I will briefly touch upon “ag gag” legislation.

I will have substantive handouts and materials available for the attendees.  I attended the AAA Stakeholders Summit several years ago and it was outstanding.  I highly recommend it to anyone involved in the agriculture industry that interested in livestock animal welfare.

I will plan on being there in for the entire two-day conference (May 2-3).  If you are there, please come by and say hello.  If you cannot make it, you can follow my tweets from the event (@CariRincker & @RinckerLaw).  You can also follow AAW on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Rincker Law, PLLC has moved to 535 Fifth Avenue, Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10017 at the corner of 44th Street.  The office is within walking distance of Times Square, Grand Central Station and Bryant Park.  I welcome you to come visit Rincker Law, PLLC at our new office in Midtown Manhattan.  This new space has several beautiful conference rooms and a friendly internet lounge for guests.

The office is very accessible via mass transit and near the 4/5/6/7/S at Grand Central Station, the 7/B/D/F/M at Bryant Park and N/Q/R/S/7/1/2/3 at Times Square.  It is convenient from Metro North at Grand Central Station and both the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit at Penn Station.

If you are a client visiting NYC, please contact me.  I will be happy to provide information on hotels, restaurants and local attractions.  This is a beautiful city that I call my home!

This is my brother and me showing in the 1998 Illinois State Fair Champion Simmental Heifer Drive. It's a blast from the past (as if the red Rocky Mountain jeans didn't give it away ...).

Are you a law student interested in learning more about agriculture law?  Prof. Linda Chezem from Purdue University’s Department of Youth Development and Agriculture Education, Attorney Beth Rumley from the National Agriculture Law Center, Attorney Rusty Rumley from the National Agriculture Law Center and Prof. Drew Kershen from Oklahoma University’s College of Law will co-teach a class titled “Animals in Agriculture Production — Law & Policy” at the Oklahoma University (“OU”), College of Law in Norman, Oklahoma from May 13 to May 20, 2012.  The Egg Center at Iowa State University’s Department of Animal Science received a grant to provide scholarships to non-OU students at $2500 for student (covers non-resident tuition, fees, housing and travel).

There is a priority given to law students from University of Arkansas, Pennsylvania State, Drake University, University of Nebraska, Oklahoma City University.  If there are available seats, it will be available to law students from other schools.  For more information, please visit the OU website or email Prof. Drew Kershen at dkershen@ou.edu.

I took the last last summer/fall with other agriculture lawyers and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I recommend it to any law student interested in this subject matter.  It will be a valuable use of time.

I took this photograph in Idaho at the American Junior Simmental Association Classic.

If you are a fan of this food and agriculture law blog, I would appreciate it if you submit your recommendation to the American Bar Association (“ABA”) here to help the ABA select the Top 100 “Blawgs” for the 2011.  The ABA is currently seeking recommendations for “law blawgs” to include in their survey; subsequently, those blogs will be subject to a vote to select the Top 100.  Put another way, the ABA is seeking to identify blogs to include in the nominations list.  The deadline for submitting recommendations is September 9th.

This blog is including in the ABA Blawg Directory.  I encourage you to review the list and add blogs of interest to your RSS Feed (or even recommend other law “blawgs” in the directory).

I love this picture of Lady Liberty. You can purchase the print at http://tinyurl.com/5wux8sv

For the last year, I have been a member of the Downtown Lawyers group here in New York City.  It is comprised of attorneys who practice law in New York City in a myriad of practice areas including bankruptcy, estate planning, elder law, business law, personal injury, employment law, immigration, matrimonial law, tax law, landlord-tenant law, intellectual property, criminal law, entertainment law, traffic law, civil litigation, real estate transactions, and insurance law.  I am the food and agriculture attorney in the group.

We meet on a monthly basis “downtown” in the Financial District.  I have enjoyed getting to know such a high quality group of professionals.  Please contact me if you would like for me to introduce you to any of the other attorneys in the Downtown Lawyers group.

I am excited about attending the New York Farm Bureau (“NYFB”) State Annual Meeting from December 7-9 in Melville, New York.  I oftentimes must travel to Syracuse or Albany for agriculture meetings so it is convenient that this year’s NYFB State Annual meeting is on Long Island  - about an hour east of the city.  It is also an appropriate location for the State Annual Meeting since Suffolk County has a very rich and diverse agriculture industry.  If you haven’t done so already, please take a look at the event’s General Information and Agenda online.  If you cannot make the event, I will be tweeting from the conference using the #NYFB hashtag.

I am looking forward to attending the New York State Fair again this year.  I will be up in Syracuse on Tuesday, August 31st to watch the State Supreme Champion   Beef Female Show.  I will then be judging the steer show the following day.  If you are up in Syracuse on those days please come by and say hello.  If you can’t make it, I will be tweeting from @CariRincker with a #NYStateFair hashtag.

I am a strong supporter of 4-H and similar youth programs.  New York is not alone in funding cuts — which is why it is as important now as it has ever been to support our 4-H programs around the country.  The lessons that are learned through agriculture youth programs such as 4-H are invaluable.  I am a firm believer that hard work teaches our kids to be good people.

I had a great weekend judging the New York Beef Producers’ Association‘s (“NYBPA”) summer preview show in Lockport, New York.  There were around 66 kids participating with 112 head of cattle for me to sort last Saturday.  Not only was I impressed with the quality of cattle and young people, but it was great to see so many wonderful families supporting NYBPA’s junior program.  Like I said in this blog, our kids will remember the time that we spend with them during their showing career instead of the trophies they won.  I also loved seeing the beautiful farmland and livestock facilities up there in Niagra County.  I feel very privileged to have judged the preview show and look forward to working with working with young cattle producers in the future.

A proposed bill named the Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Extension Act of 2009 (HR 3227 and S 1313) would extend the deduction that farmers recieve by donating produce to feed the hungry.  It is currently being discussed in the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. 

Since I live in New York where I walk past hungry people everyday, I think that agriculture producers should really get out in their communities and either volunteer at their local soup kitchen or help donate food to those shelters.  It is appropropriate that producers receive tax deductions to do so.  New York Farm Bureau (“NYFB”) has an “action alert” on this bill so you are encouraged to write your elected representative.  You can find more information here. 

While we are on the topic, I am a proud supporter of Hope for New York and the organization is always looking for coats, gloves, dress suits, food and volunteers in NYC.