I am a huge supporter of farms and ranches generating additional income through agritourism — not only does this help generate additional monies for an agriculture operation but it can serve as a way to help bridge the gap of understanding between city folks and producers. However, as Craig Raysor (a.ka. @AgriLawyer) from Gillon & Associates, PLLC points out in …
Ag Torts 101: Premise Liability
Sorry that it’s been a while since my last Ag Torts 101 blog. As a reminder, in this blog, I stated that a “tort” is a civil wrongdoing other than breach of contract. Among the different types of torts, negligence is the most common tort among farms, ranches, and agribusinesses. In this blog, I stated that the four common law …
Interview on ShowToWin.com
I think it’s easy for legal bloggers to sit behind a computer screeen without ever sharing who they are and how they went down thier path. In particular, I realize that the fact that I’m an agriculture attorney in NYC is confusing to most people. I am fairly certain that I am the only resident of Manhattan that recieves the …
Recommendations for Ag Book Club?
As noted in this blog, I am starting an Ag Book Club where there will be an online discussion on book criticizing modern agriculture. In around mid-December there will be a discussion on Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma (tentative date and time is Wednesday, December 9th at 8pm ET). (As a reminder, you can join the faceboook group here). I …
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food
Tomorrow, on Thursday, November 5th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) will be having a second facebook chat on its program “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.” The chat will take place at 3pm ET discussing how to get fresh produce to local schools with Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. The program expands on the 2008 Farm Bill to help promote …
YPC Spotlight: Interview with Holly Foster (Part II)
In yesterday’s blog, Holly Foster answered questions about her involvement with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (“NCBA”) Young Producers’ Council (“YPC”). In Part I, she described her involvement on the Property Rights and Environmental Management Committee and her goals for the organization. Here are the rest of her answers to the interview. 1. What are the hot topics in your committee …
YPC Spotlight: Interview with Holly Foster (Part I)
If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I am very involved with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association‘s (“NCBA”) Young Producers’ Council (“YPC”). I am YPC’s representative on NCBA’s Resolutions Committee and am currently working with the new YPC blog, Cattle Call. If you haven’t been following the blog, make sure you check it out here (you can also become …
Livestock Animal Cruelty Law Article
I recently wrote a livestock animal cruelty article addressing farm animal welfare issues in New York. The article discusses five defensive moves that New York livestock producers should make to help prevent criminal prosecution. Though the article is state specific, the article is informative to livestock producers all over the country. If you would like specific information on livestock animal …
Animal Law Student Writing Competition
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I am a member of Committee on Animals and the Law (“CAL”) for the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”). Last spring, I was appointed as a member of the subcommittee for the Student Writing Competition. The subcommittee is pleased to announce the Third Annual Student Writing Competition. The deadline for submission is …
LLM in Agriculture and Food Law
The University of Arkansas, School of Law is now accepting applications for its Masters of Law (“LLM”) program in Agriculture and Food Law. If you are a 3L or an attorney who is interested in practicing agriculture law, I highly recommend the program. Through its scholarship program, there is an opportunity to work at the National Agriculture Law Center right …
A Handshake Just Won’t Cut It
Farmers and ranchers are constantly dealing with family, friends, and people that they have had a business relationship with for years and years. Because of these long-term relationships, it is easy for farmers and ranchers to trust the other party in this type of business transaction. It is not rare for farmers to make oral contracts with one another with …
Starting Agriculture Book Club
On yesterday’s post, I mentioned the idea of forming a book club in your community to discuss mainstream literature criticizing modern agriculture and discuss the misconceptions in the literature and how the agriculture community should address these misconceptions. For those of you who are interested in this, I am starting an agriculture book club that will read through these books …