I gave this Lawline lecture last December on New York farm animal welfare law. I first talk about animal welfare laws from the national perspective and then move into New York specifically. I think it helps to see the forest for the trees and better understand where New York fits in nationally with these issues. I discuss both misdemeanor and …
Alleged Violation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)? Creating an Effective Training Policy for Retailers Accepting SNAP Benefits
One of the most important parts of becoming an authorized retailer that accepts SNAP benefits is to ensure that employees are properly trained in the policies of accepting food stamps. The United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) requires that all SNAP authorized firms be able to demonstrate that there is an established training policy in place as well as a …
Recording Available for Food & Ag Law Insurance CLE
One of the most common questions that I get from food and farm clients has to do with insurance. It affects every kind of business (including law practices!). It’s important for food and agriculture lawyers to have a cursory understanding on the breadth of issues that can arise with insurance in dealing with food and agriculture clients. Because of this, …
Recording Available for ABA Webinar on Intellectual Property for the Food and Ag Lawyer
For those of you who missed it, the recording of the intellectual property (“IP”) webinar that I moderated for the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee last November is now available for purchase. Even though I love participating in the live webcasts in case I have a question to ask, recordings are …
Lawline Lecture: Overview of New York Farm Animal Welfare Law
Brrrr… There is a blizzard here in New York City right now so I’m blogging away! I will be Tweeting (@CariRincker) and Snapping (CariRincker) about the NYC snowstorm once I venture outside! Stay warm… hot chocolate time! Here is the video for the Lawline presentation that I gave in December regarding livestock animal welfare law in New York. I first …
Alleged Violation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)? Compliance Policy for SNAP Regulations
Any business licensed to accept SNAP benefits must have a training policy in place to teach employees appropriate procedures for accepting food stamps. Having a good training policy is only helpful if SNAP authorized retailers also have a compliance policy in effect to ensure that the regulations are being properly followed. Compliance policies that the United States Department of Agriculture …
What is a 501(c)(5)?
You might have heard of a corporation or organization being referred to as a “501(c)(5)”. This reference refers to a specific Section in the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) and means it is a not for profit labor, agricultural, or horticultural organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). It will be exempt form federal income taxes. To qualify for 501(c)(5) …
My Wine & Vineyard Law Presentation
[slideshare id=54880203&doc=nbiwinepresentation11-8-15-151108170827-lva1-app6891] Really enjoyed presenting on wine law last month via the National Business Institute (NBI). For those of you who are looking for holiday gift ideas for yours truly, I love wine. Red wine, white wine, sparkling wine, sake. I don’t discriminate. The above presentation focuses on permits and licenses. It also discusses the governmental players, the types of wineries, …
Idaho’s Ag-Gag Law Struck Down
“Ag gag” refers to anti-whistleblower statutes that prohibit employees from taking pictures and recording video illustrating alleged cruelty to animals, food safety issues, and/or poor working conditions, during the farming process and/or restrict people such as activist and undercover journalists from obtaining illegal access (commonly through job application fraud) onto agricultural operations for this same purpose. I spoke on “Ag …
Some Food for Thought on Interns
Most businesses at one point or another come across the process of hiring interns. The decision to bring on an intern may be easy to take, but whether or not he should be paid is a matter that is more complicated. Many employers believe that as long as you label the person being hired as an intern that paying that …
Interested in Learning More About Insurance for Farms, Ranches, Agri-Businesses and Food Entrepreneurs?
I moderated a webinar for the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) General Practice Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee on insurance for the farmer, rancher, agri-business or food entrepreneur. The recording is available for purchase here. This is a substantive CLE program covering many types of insurance including, but not limited to, Farmowners’ Comprehensive Liability Program (“FCLP”), commercial insurance, …
Presentation on Direct Farm Marketing
This is my powerpoint presentation from the direct farm marketing, agri-tourism and local food presentation that I gave at the University of Tennessee about a month ago. My part of the presentation focuses on Community Supported Agriculture (“CSA”) Agreements, volunteer farm labor and the USDA Statistics from the Census of Agriculture on local food and direct farm marketing. Here is …