I took this photo on the Rincker Ranch several years ago. I love black baldy cows! (and cowboys...)

I made it safe and sound to Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee, for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (“NCBA”) Annual Convention and Trade Show.  I will be at Cattlemen’s College today and this tweet-up this evening with these awesome ag tweeps.  Tomorrow afternoon and evening I will be at the Young Producer’s Council (“YPC”) (@YPCBeef)  meeting and reception.  I’m also on various NCBA Committees including the Agriculture Policy Committee, Tax & Credit Committee, and Property Rights and Environmental Management (“PREM”) Committee.

Throughout the week, you can follow my convention tweets from both @CariRincker and @RinckerLaw with the #NCBA12 and/or #CIC12 hashtag (Why are there two hashtags to follow?  Good question).

If you are at NCBA Convention, please come find me.  If you aren’t, you can follow the fun via Twitter.  I have always found reading tweets from agriculture conferences educational so I encourage you follow along.

As a final note, I will be tweeting on my iPad that I won last year at NCBA Convention from Pfizer (thanks again!).

Each time I fly over New York City, I’m reminded how many people really live here.  I’m just one little light in this big ol’ city full of millions of little lights.  It’s quite beautiful to me, actually.  However, when so many people live in a densely populated area, there are bound to be a few disagreements.  That is where community mediation centers, such as the New York Peace Institute in Brooklyn and Manhattan, can help.

I first learned about the center last December when I completed the 40-hour Basic Mediation Training in order to be qualified to apply for the New York State Agriculture Mediation Program (“NYSAMP”).  I am currently participating in its 12 week apprenticeship program and will take the divorce mediation course next month.

New York Peace Institute handles almost every different kind of dispute (for free!)- including landlord/tenant, neighbor noise complaints, child custody and visitation, personal and/or business debt, breach of contracts, criminal, employment, divorces, property, and special education disputes.  From my experience thus far, the program’s mediators are fantastic and well-qualified.  They have been amazing teachers to me and I can really see how they touch the lives of the people who come into the center.

On a final note, the New York Peace Institute also offers consultation and training services.  I also encourage you to add CEO Brad Heckman’s blog into your RSS Feed.  You can also follow New York Peace Institute on Twitter.

Dear Fellow Agriculture Attorneys (and Law Students):

This is a friendly reminder to register for the crop and livestock/equine insurance law CLE that is scheduled for Wednesday, January 25, 2012.  The CLE is hosted by the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee.  If you cannot attend the live webinar, a recording can be purchased from the ABA. We have an outstanding faculty put together and I believe it will be a practical, informative use of time for any attorney interested in crop/livestock insurance law.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who took the time to vote for this blog in the ABA Journal’s Top 100 Blawg List Competition.  If you haven’t done so already, I would visit the ABA Journal’s Top 100 Blawg list.  Food and agriculture law overlaps with almost every area of law.  Although I think this blog is pretty grand, I learn a lot by following other blogs.  (Here are a few of my favorites).

And a very special thanks goes out to my loyal readers (especially those who retain me…).

I love this photo. Took it near the South Dakota and Nebraska border several years ago. Makes me yearn for wide open spaces (and baldy Simmental cows)...

The New York State Bar Association Committee on Animals and the Law will be having its 5th Annual Student Writing Competition.  Papers must be postmarked no later than June 29, 2012 and cannot be more than 25 pages, including footnotes.  One hard copy and one electronic copy must be submitted to Kim Hojon, New York State Bar Association, One Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207.  Law students (including JD, LLM, PhD and SJD candidates) are all invited to submit their articles concerning any area of animal law (including food animal law).

The first place winner will receive $1,000 scholarship and the second place winner will receive a $500 scholarship.  You can find information from previous winners here.

Photo of my old brownstone on the Upper West Side

Last night, I was having dinner at a bar on the Upper West Side.  I couldn’t help but overhear a conversation from the table next to me.  The gentlemen were (civilly) discussing a business partnership that had gone bad.  They had a “handshake” deal that started out with great dreams together (“You used to say ‘our’ and ‘we.’”) and somehow along the way things changed. There was a dispute in ownership, responsibility, creative rights and intellectual property, public credit, veto power, and profits…

I sat there with my hot Mexican Coffee drink (hey – it’s really cold in New York City this week) shaking my head and thinking about how prevalent partnership disputes are– both inside and outside the agriculture industry.  After all, business partnerships are oftentimes formed with people we know and trust.  (“We have a gentleman’s agreement.”)  It is important to understand, however, that some partnership disputes arise from confusion.  There is not a better exercise to make sure partners are on the same page than memorializing the agreement.

“But I blew my holiday cash on after-Christmas sales.  I cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars for an attorney to write a 30 page partnership agreement.”

Hey, you’re not alone.  I enjoyed my post-holiday spree at the Tanger Outlets in Tuscola, Illinois.  First, who said the partnership agreement needs to be long and complicated.  Perhaps it is appropriate — perhaps it is not.  Second, there are several ways to keep your lawyer bills down (stay tuned for a future post on this topic).  I suggest sitting down with your partner(s) and memorializing everything that you can on your own — this will be a healthy exercise and save you attorneys’ fees.   Afterwards, email it to your attorney to review/edit in accordance with the partnership law in your jurisdiction.

“But I still cannot afford to pay an attorney.”

That’s understandable.  It depends on your risk appetite.  I still suggest sitting down with your partner(s) and memorializing what you can.  The default partnership rules in your state will likely apply to any silent issues in your partnership agreement. Additionally, you take a risk that certain provisions may not be enforceable in your state and there may be issues that an attorney may raise that you didn’t think about.   Nonetheless, it’s always better to put terms of an agreement in writing.  I will be hosting a webinar on partnership agreements on January 13, 2012 that may better inform you on the issues.

Wow.  2011 was a great year (indeed).

I hope that my readers had a wonderful New Year’s celebration with their family and friends.  I wanted to share some (more) exciting news:  I won Best Agriculture Attorney in the 2011 Best of Barns Competition.  Thank you to those of you who nominated and/or voted for me — I’m very humbled (and grateful) — and thank you to Ranch House Designs, Inc. for bringing positive recognition to several folks in the agriculture community.

Please take a moment to check out the other winners in this month’s Showbox magazine.

I had some exciting news at the beginning of the month:  the ABA Journal selected this Food and Agriculture Law Blog in its Blawg 100 List.  It has been taking votes on the Top 100 Blawgs during the month of December.  If you have not voted yet, please do so today.  Registration only takes 30 seconds and you will find this blog in the “niche” category.  Also take a moment to vote on your other favorite law blogs (“blawgs”); here are mine.

Wishing you and your family a safe and happy 2012!   Huge thanks to my readers and clients for making 2011 a great year.

I was reading the November/December 2011 Issue of the New York Beef Producer from the New York Beef Producers’ Association today. Ron Kuck, a New York Dairy/Livestock Extension Educator with Cornell had a nice article on page 28 regarding the importance of working with your herd veterinarian.  Kuck suggests working with a veterinarian to develop a “health management strategy and preventative medicine, rather than just relying on them for emergencies.”

So why do I care about livestock health? After all, I am a lawyer.  Because of livestock animal cruelty laws.  As I stated in this post, I believe that every livestock producer should have an ongoing relationship with a veterinarian, an extension specialist (and well, a lawyer).  A livestock producer should memorialize recommendations, noted improvements, and animal sickness.  If you were ever going to have problems with alleged livestock animal cruelty, these relationships and records will be invaluable to your livestock operation.

So reach out to your herd veterinarian and build a life-long relationship.

Okay, so it’s not the most exciting New Year’s Resolution but it may be a whole lot more doable than dropping 30 pounds in 2012.  On page 5 of this month’s Grassroots newspaper by New York Farm Bureau (“NYFB”) includes a nice submission by A. Edward Staehr of NY FarmNet about coping with a disaster (including grief counseling, recreating lost records, stress management, cash flow planning, and debt restructuring).  I highly recommend FarmNet’s consultants:  they are well qualified and really understand the agriculture industry/culture.

However, there is a lot to be said for planning for the disaster beforehand.  For example, when is the last time you revisited your insurance policies (e.g., crop insurance, livestock insurance, health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, etc.)?  Do you have these original documents in a safety deposit box?  Do you have your estate planning documents in order (e.g., Power of Attorney, Health Proxy, Living Will, Last Will and Testament, Living Revocable Trust)?  Is a succession plan in place in case the current management of a farm or agri-business is unable to continue managing the operation (death, disability, or illness)?  Do you have electronic copies of important far records?  Does your family have your in-case-of-emergency information (including passwords)?  Are your business organizational documents in order (e.g., LLC Operating Agreement, Partnership Agreement)?  Do you have enough cash in your emergency fund?

“Disasters” can come in many forms.  It could be a loss of a loved one, an unexpected law suit or family dispute, or an Act of God.  Make 2012 the year when you are prepared for the worst.  It may make you less stressed about the future.  And then maybe you will be able to lose that extra 30 pounds afterall…