I will be presenting on farm and ranch leases on March 12, 2014 with Tiffany Dowel, an agriculture lawyer and extension specialist with Texas A & M University for the National Agricultural Law Center (“NALC”). The CLE is titled “Farm & Ranch Leases: Overview and Practical Negotiation Pointers.” The webinar is free to members of the American Agricultural Law Association. …
New York Agri-Women Leadership Retreat
Hey New York Agriculture Women! On March 7th and 8th, the New York Agri-Women will host a Leadership and Marketing Retreat, at Sprout Creek Farms, 34 Lauer Road Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. The keynote speaker will be Melissa Ward. A dynamic, international speaker, Ward is a social media, design, and marketing specialist, as well as a Managing Partner of Neward Development. …
Succession Planning for Your Farming Business
Proud of my little cousin Austin Rincker- He made the cover of the Illinois Field and Bean last month (the flagship publication of the Illinois Soybean Association). He is noted in the article starting on page 6 titled “Successful Succession- Begin With the End in Mind.” If you follow this blog then you know how important succession planning for farms, …
Using Business Entities as a Risk Management Tool for Your Farm or Food Business
I enjoyed presenting at the NOFA-NY Annual Meeting last Sunday in Saratoga Springs, NY. My presentation on “Using Business Entities as a Risk Management Tool to Help Organic Growth for your Food & Agriculture Business” is below. [slideshare id=30215443&doc=organicgrowthforyourbusiness-useofbusinessentities-140120092329-phpapp02] Share this Article
Some Other Professionals That You Might Consider For Your Divorce
Besides a qualified matrimonial attorney and/or mediator (like yours truly), here are a few other types of professionals that you might want to consider hiring to help you through your divorce process: 1. Divorce Coaches – “Coaching” seems to be very hot right now. There seems to be a coach for everything these days – health coach, business coach, life …
Some Great Press- Thankful for my Lake Land College Experience!
As some of you might know, I’m a proud “distinguished” alum from Lake Land College, in Mattoon, Illinois (see this as well). It has been instrumental in my path in becoming an agriculture lawyer in New York City. You can read this press release that was recently published about my win in the Best of the Barns Competition. Thank you …
Organic Growth for your Food & Agri-Business- Using Business Entities as a Risk Management Tool
I’ll be speaking this Sunday, January 26, 2014 at the Northeast Organic Farming Association (“NOFA”) of New York’s Annual Meeting in Saratoga Falls. My presentation is titled “Getting Prepared for Organic Growth: Using Business Entities as a Risk Management Tool.” My presentation will give an overview of the different choices of business entities, including sole proprietorships, general partnerships, limited partnerships, …
A Few of the Many Reasons Why I Support Divorce Mediation
I’m a divorce lawyer and mediator. As a lawyer, I handle both contested and uncontested divorce. A “contested” divorce just means that 1 or both parties seek court intervention. An “uncontested” divorce means that the parties were able to reach a settlement agreement without seeking court intervention. In either context, couples can decide to use a mediator. Here are a …
Hear Me Talk Farm Estate and Succession Planning on Heritage Greenhorns Radio
I will be on Heritage Radio Network out of Brooklyn tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14, 2014 from 4-4:30pm ET during the Greenhorns Radio spot. My interview focuses heavily on the farm estate and succession planning (not purposefully – it’s just the way the conversation went). I’m a huge believer that families should have open and candid conversations about succession planning of …
My Food and Agriculture Law Book is now Available on Kindle!
You can now purchase the electronic copy of Field Manual: Legal Guide for New York Farmers and Food Entrepreneurs on Kindle for $9.99 (or $2.99 if you already own the hard copy of the book) here. I don’t own a Kindle but I did download the Kindle application on my iPad. After a quick purchase on Amazon.com, Kindle uploaded it …
Personal Finance – Smart Women Finish Rich
Hope you are having a lovely holiday season. I’m home visiting family in Illinois right now at the Rincker Ranch. This blog is long overdue. I enjoyed reading this book last summer beachside in Coney Island. A friend of mine, Jeanne Berger, one of the top financial advisors at Chase Bank, suggested “Smart Women Finish Rich” by David Bach to …
C-Corp, S-Corp, B-Corp- Huh? What’s Best for Your Food and Agriculture Operation
Under NY Business Corporation Law (“BCL”), a corporation is formed in New York by filing a Certificate of Incorporation with the NYS Department of State. Individual shareholders will not be held personally liable for the debt of the corporation unless the “corporate shield” can be pierced. The corporate shield can be pierced in New York if a court finds that the …