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, …
Lawline Lecture: Counseling the Local Food Movement
As I noted in this post, last month, I enjoyed presenting at Lawline on Counseling the Local Food Movement Part II. It was Part III of a Three Part series that I did at Lawline this fall on food and agriculture law. In this presentation, I discuss I discuss Food Safety Modernization Act, the National Organic Program, Right-to-Farm law, backyard …
Some Thoughts on Bull Partnership Agreements
Are you going *in* on a bull partnership? Getting a written bull partnership agreement is a way to help ensure that everyone is on the same page. Here are some thoughts for a bull partnership agreement. 1. Who are the original business partners and ownership shares? 2. Will unanimous or majority consent be required if a partner decides to sell …
Partnerships – A Common Entity Choice for Food and Agriculture Operations
At one point or another, most food and agriculture operations form a partnership with another person or entity. Perhaps it is a partnership on a single head of livestock (e.g., stallion, bull, boar, show heifer) or perhaps it is a more long-term partnership where profits and losses will be shared among family members or multiple people and entities. Partnerships can happen …
Upcoming Farm Commons Webinars for Farmers
Rachel Armstong of Farm Commons has put together a killer list of webinars on a myriad of legal topics important for farmers, among them include: – Overview of Farm Legal Issues – Community Supported Agriculture Legal Issues – Hosting On-Farm Events – Workers and Employees -Selling Products to Larger Buyers -Starting a Farm -Adding Value to Farm Products -Food Safety …
Counseling the Local Food Movement Part II
Below is the presentation from last night’s webinar “Part II: Counseling the Local Food Movement” for Lawline. It was the third presentation in a three part series. Free Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) credits are available for each one. I think that Lawline is a worthwhile investment for attorneys – over the weekend I was able to listen to a matrimonial …
Watch the Video Lecture: Counseling Food Movement Part 1
As I noted in this post, I enjoyed presenting at Lawline last month on counseling the local food movement. There’s so much to talk about so I’m giving Part II of the presentation on November 18, 2013. In Part I of the presentation, I talk about direct farm marketing, cottage food operation law, liability and insurance. It runs for about …
Country of Origin Labeling Webinar
The National Agriculture Law Center is will hosting a webinar titled “COOL or Not-So-Cool: Overview and Discussion of Country of Origin Labeling” on November 14, 2013 at 2:30pm ET. For those of you who have been following this issue, COOL has been quite the mess over the last decade and its future is unclear. You can listen to J. Dudley …
Recording Available for Renewable Energy Law for the Agriculture Industry CLE
Last month, I moderated a Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) webinar for the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s (“GP Solo”) Agriculture Law Committee titled “Renewable Energy Law for the Agriculture Industry”. It discusses solar leases, solar power purchase agreements, wind energy leases pipeline and transmission easements, and tax initiatives for renewable energy. You can purchase …
Mediating the Divorce Involving Livestock and Pets
I recently co-authored an article on divorce mediation with companion and farm animals along with Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton that was published in the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation‘s quarterly publication. You can find the history of The Report online here. I posted the article on my JD Supra page. I am a trained divorce mediator and am …
Counseling the Local Food Movement (Part II)
I will be presenting to Lawline on Monday, November 18th at 4pm on “Counseling the Local Food Movement.” It will be Part II of the 2 part series on local food law. In this presentation, I will be covering the Food Safety Modernization Act Exemptions, National Organic Program, Urban/suburban agriculture, land use law, agriculture districts, the Right-to-Farm law, labor law …