As I noted in this previous post, I am the new Chair of the American Bar Association (“ABA”), General Practice, Solo and Small Firm’s Division, Agriculture Law Committee. You can join the Committee and the Discussion List here. I have restructured the subcommittees as follows: 1. Ag ADR: mediation, arbitration 2. Ag Estate/Succession Planning, Family Law, and Taxation: estate planning,succession …
Are You A Fan Of This Blog?
If you are a fan of this food and agriculture law blog, I would appreciate it if you submit your recommendation to the American Bar Association (“ABA”) here to help the ABA select the Top 100 “Blawgs” for the 2011. The ABA is currently seeking recommendations for “law blawgs” to include in their survey; subsequently, those blogs will be subject …
Livestock Feedyards and Potential Liability Issues
If you haven’t done so already, I suggest reviewing the “Livestock & Liability” article by Lauren P. Caggiano (@lcagg on Twitter) on pages 32-34 in this issue of the Feedlot magazine. In this article, I recommend that cattle feedyard operators seek counsel on environmental laws and perhaps hire a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (“CAFO”) consultant to devise a plan to …
Some Thoughts On Contacting An Attorney for a Consultation
I read this excellent blog post last night from Alison Rowe, an equine lawyer in Texas, titled “How To Cold-Call An Attorney.” She did a great job covering preparation, expectation, listening and timing. I especially liked Alison’s advice on explaining your problem to your attorney in four sentences or less and contacting an attorney well before the court appearance. A …
What Is The Animal Cruelty Law In Your State?
This weekend I discovered that the National Agriculture Law Center has a helpful state-by-state analysis of animal cruelty laws in the United States. Even though there are several federal statutes that regulate this issue, animal cruelty statutes vary significantly from state-to-state. It is interesting to pull up the statutes in various states and run a comparison. Though the National Agriculture …
New Chair of the ABA GP Solo Agriculture Law Committe
I have been appointed the new chair of the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division‘s Agriculture Law Committee (whew that’s a mouthful- say that three times really fast). The Committee has been fairly inactive over the last few years but I hope to change that. If you are a food/agriculture attorney or law student, please …
Saturday Links
It’s been a busy week. I have been catching up on my blog feed before heading to the gym. This is what I found: This month’s Pennsylvania State Agriculture Law Brief has updates on the G-20 Action Plan, Hydraulic Fracturing, and the White House Rural Council. I excitedly received a Google+ invite this week from a respected family law …
Looking Back: Two-Year Blogging Anniversary
Seems like just yesterday I was driving across South Dakota with my dog Taylor before starting Rincker Law, PLLC and this blog. It’s been a great ride so far. Big thank you to my friends, family, colleagues, contract attorneys/legal assistants, clients and blog readers for all your support. It’s been a busy year indeed. Over the last year, I am …
More Than a Handshake – Embryo Transfer Contracts For The Livestock Industry
Happy Fourth of July from NYC! I posted two articles on JD Supra regarding why the beef industry (and the livestock industry) needs to have written embryo transfer contracts. As an aside, I have been contacted several times over the last year about whether I charge for articles or a regular monthly column. I write when I have time. If …
*Suggested* Sale Terms & Conditions
I recently had a conversation with my father regarding the American Simmental Association’s (“ASA”) Suggested Sale Terms and Conditions. There are other livestock breed associations that have similar suggested sale terms. I think it is great that livestock breed associations are giving members some suggested guidelines that memorialize important terms such as choice of law, health requirements, registration, identification, pedigree, …
Animals & Agriculture Production Law & Policy Course
Over the next few months I will be participating in an online animals and agriculture production law and policy course for attorneys coordinated by Prof. Drew Kershen from the University of Oklahoma, College of Law. Prof. Linda Chezem, Elizabeth Rumley, Esq. & Rusty Rumley, Esq. will be co-teachers for the course. The weekly course will discuss important animal agriculture law/policy …
Saturday Links
Had a nice Saturday afternoon catching up on my RSS Feed. This is what I found: What are your thoughts regarding genetic biodiversity in our food system? The G-20 Agriculture Ministers made an action plan last week to help mitigate hunger & food price volatility around the globe. Let’s take the Taboo out of end-of-life conversations. We are all going …