I will be speaking on agriculture advocacy (“advocacy”), social media (including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, Pinterist, Google+, Tumblr, Quora, YouTube, Instagram, FourSquare and About.Me), marketing online, and livestock judging at the Oneida County Cooperative Extension Office in Oriskany, New York on Saturday, April 6, 2013 from 10:00am to 2:00pm. The cost for 4-H members is $10 and the cost for …
Picking the Right Management for Your Limited Liability Company
So you’ve decided to form a limited liability company — congrats on your new business venture. After filing the Articles of Organization with the Department of State and complying with any publication requirement, the next step is to draft the LLC’s operating agreement. In doing so, you must decide whether you want your limited liability company to be member-managed or …
Ask Cari: Is Rental Income from a Farm Lease Self-Employment Taxable for Social Security Purposes?
I was recently posed this question from a farmer close to retirement concerned about social security. He has been farming his whole life and would like to shift into a landlord role. In way of background, you must have a certain number of credits under the social security system before receiving social security based eligible quarters. A farmer may have …
Will Be Attending the New York Beef Producers’ Association’s Annual Meeting
I will be in East Syracuse on January 18-19, 2013 attending the New York Beef Producers’ Association’s Annual Meeting and Trade Show. You can review the two-day conference schedule here. I’m especially interested in hearing Dr. Bob Weaber’s update on trends with genetics, Dr. Keith Belk on the National Beef Quality Assurance (“BQA”) Audit, and Jeffry Huse from the New …
What’s the Skinny on Limited Partnerships?
As I noted in this post, a limited partnership is choice of entity that could be utilized by a farm or agri-business. With limited partnerships, there are two classes of partners: (1) general partners and (2) limited partners. This differs from a general partnership in several ways. The general partners are really the ones “running the show” by controlling most …
On-Farm Poultry Slaughter Guide for the New York Farmer
I want to commend the Cornell Small Farms Program for its publication titled “On-Farm Poultry Slaughter Guidelines” (available on its resources page). I reviewed the guide in its entirety in preparation for the local food CLE that was scheduled at Pace Law School in October (rescheduled for March 13th due to Hurricane Sandy). I recommend the guide to any farmer …
Confidentiality Agreements for Your Farm or Agri-Business
I recently wrote an article on confidentiality agreements for the agriculture community. It can be found on my JD Supra page here. I understand that Non-Disclosure Agreements (“NDA’s”) lack the “excitement factor” but a misappropriate of confidential information can have deleterious effects on a farm or agri-business. I encourage my readers to gain a cursory understanding in confidentiality agreements and …
Succession Planning for the Family Farm
A few months ago, Feedstuffs magazine published an interesting article by Rod Smith discussing the obstacles that young farmers face. It reminded me of the importance of succession planning for the family farm. “More than a third of U.S. farmers are 65 years old or older, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture” — a statistic that many of us …
My Presentation at AALA Regarding My Technology Choices in My Law Practice
I spoke at the American Agriculture Law Association‘s (“AALA”) Annual Agriculture Law Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee on my own technology choices in my law practice You can view my presentation below. [slideshare id=14673383&doc=mytechnologychoicesinmyaglawpractice-121010142927-phpapp01] In case you missed it, this article in the American Bar Association (“ABA”) GP Solo magazine gives a brief overview of my technology choices.
Difference Between Owning Property at Death as Tenancy in Common or Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship
I’ve enjoyed reading this book by Neil Harl on farm and estate planning. Harl does a nice job illustrating the difference in holding property at death in Tenancy in Common vs. Joint Tenancy (with rights of survivorship). Harl explains (page 22), “[a]t death of a tenant in common, that individual’s undivided interest passes to that individual’s heirs under state law …
A Quick Review on Land Use Law
I have enjoyed reading through the Harvard Law School’s Food Law & Policy Clinic’s publication titled “Good Laws, Good Food: Putting Local Food Policy to Work for Our Communities.” Section III (beginning on page 30) does a nice job giving a cursory overview of land use law. As the article correctly states, the authority to regulate land use is derived …
Does Your Farm or Agri-Business Need a “Power Audit?”
I really love Neil Harl’s book titled “Farm Estate & Business Planning.” He briefly talks about the “power issue” when it comes to farm families and warns folks to consider this issue when formulating an estate plan. He illustrates this point with the following example: “An aggressive, able farmer died unexpectedly just days short of his 50th birthday. The business, …