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 …
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 …
*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, …
Liability in Highway Accidents Involving Livestock
There was an interesting article on page 5 of the May 16, 2011 edition of County Folks by Jay Girvin, Esq. of Girvin & Ferlazzo, P.C. about whether a livestock owners can be held liable if their animal wanders off their farm and causes a highway accident. You can review the full article online here. Mr. Girvin accurately noted that …
Overview of State Laws Relating to the Amount of Space Given to Farm Animals
I am speaking today in Atlantic City at the New Jersey State Bar Association’s (“NJSBA”) Annual Meeting on a couple farm animal law issues. One of the topics that I will be addressing today includes an overview of state legislation/regulation over the amount of space given to farm animals. Seven states have had laws sponsored by the Humane Society of …
Role of Buyer’s Attorney in Real Estate Closing
I have had several real closings this week and was reminded this morning of this pamphlet from the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”) on the Attorney’s Role in Home Purchases. Most of us will purchase property at some point in our lives. The pamphlet properly describes the various responsibilities of the Buyer’s/Borrower’s attorney in real estate transactions including, but …
Next on the Bookshelf: Animal Factory
Animal Factory by David Kirby has been sitting on my Manhattan bookshelf for a few weeks. The weather is so nice in New York City now that I am yearning for some time in Central Park with a book. As the title suggests, the book is about “factory farming” and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (“CAFO’s”). As I have noted previously …
Information on the Existing Voluntary National Animal Identification System
I know that it has been a while since the agriculture community has talked about the National Animal Identification System (“NAIS”). As most of my readers know, the program is managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (“APHIS”) and participation is currently voluntary. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) expressed concern over NAIS. In February …
Sunday Links
Happy May Day! I have had a great visit in Illinois visiting Lake Land College and family. Our pastureland grass is lush and green. Illinois has been hit with a lot of rain this spring. Dad *hopes* to plant corn next weekend. Had a nice afternoon catching up on blogs. Here are a few that caught my eye: 1. April …
Wind Energy Property Agreements
I came across a great article this morning by Jessica Shoemaker from the Farmers’ Legal Action Group, Inc. (“FLAG”) titled “Negotiating Wind Energy Property Agreements.” You can find the article online here. I also co-authored an article on wind leases that you can find here. If you are interested in negotiating a wind lease on your farm or ranch I …
Speaking on Farm Animal Law Issues at the New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Meeting
You can catch me speaking on “Hot Topics” of farm animal law on May 18th in Atlantic City at the New Jersey State Bar Association (“NJSBA”) Annual Meeting during the session on animal law from 3:30 – 5:30pm. I am currently planning to speak on farm animal welfare, family/matrimonial law and estate planning issues affecting livestock operations, and the Grain, …