In New York, property owners grazing livestock are required to erect, maintain and repair the fenceline. Under New York Town Law § 300, each owner of two adjoining tracts of land is required to erect and maintain a fence to keep his/her grazing animals separate, unless they agree (in writing) to let their lands lie open to allow the animals to …
Adverse Possession with Farms
When does “the back forty” become “the back forty-two”? The subject of acquiring title to property by adverse possession always seems to generate interest and discussion, but when the facts and the law are peeled back far enough, adverse possession is rare. Adverse possession is the acquisition of title (not use) to property by possession. From a practical standpoints, courts …
Types of Real Property Joint Ownership for Farms
You can own a piece of real estate jointly with another person or persons. Joint ownership means that each co-owner owns a given interest in the entire piece of real estate – usually, each owns an equal, but not necessarily. What does it mean to co-own property jointly with someone? Even if two people each own an equal interest …
Farm Purchase Agreements
Making any type of purchase can be a lengthy process and the purchaser should know what he or she is purchasing before signing the agreement. One important aspect of making a land purchase is the inspection. The purchaser should do a physical inspection of the property as well as a legal inspection. For the physical inspection of the property, the …
New York Agriculture Districts and Right-to-Farm
NY Agric. & Mkts § 300 et seq. sets forth agricultural districts in New York. “The socio-economic vitality of agriculture in this state is essential to the economic stability and growth of many local communities and the state as a whole. It is, therefore, the declared policy of the state to conserve, protect and encourage the development and improvement of its …
Overview of Grazing Leases
A grazing lease is an agreement in which a landowner allows a tenant to graze livestock on the landowner’s property. For parties involved in these types of agreements, it is important to specify terms of the lease, which address the landowner and the grazer’s rights and responsibilities. Any type of contract should have basic terms in the contract, including identification …
Land Uses with Urban Agriculture
Although land use and zoning issues can also affect agriculture in rural areas throughout New York state, an urban or suburban farmer should carefully review the zoning code. According to Dean Patricia Salkin at Touro Law Center in the “Counseling the Local Food Movement” webinar with the American Bar Association, there are several zoning mechanisms that can be used to promote small-scale …
Upcoming Presentation at AALA on Veterinary Feed Directive
I will be presenting at the American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) Annual Educational Symposium, October 6-8, 2016 in Oklahoma City on the Veterinary Feed Directive. I’m super excited because my presentation will be in the STOCKYARDS on October 6th at 4:00pm. Can we say Cowgirl Lawyer? (I will be wearing cowboy boots…) I will be updating the below presentation that …
Happy 7th Birthday to Rincker Law!
Rincker Law, PLLC is 7 years old! With each anniversary of my law practice, I like to reflect on the previous year. Ruth has been my right hand girl for a few years now but Ravi Cattry joined the team a year ago. It’s been great having these two ladies a part of the firm’s growth over the years. …
Outline Giving Overview Common Agriculture Contracts
You can download my substantive outline discussing a few of the major contractual issues that affect production agriculture on my JD Supra page here. The outline discusses a myriad of contracts issues including: agriculture production contracts, purchase agreements (for land, livestock and farm equipment), leases (for land, livestock and farm equipment), special contracts (e.g., custom feeding arrangements, embryo transfer contracts, …
Transcript from Keynote Presentation and Direct Farm Marketing Roundtable
Last fall, I had the pleasure of giving the Keynote address at the University of Tennessee College of Law’s Agriculture Law & Policy Symposium. My presentation from my “National Agriculture Law Update” is found here. I was also on a roundtable discussing direct farm marketing. The presentation materials are found here. Recently, the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy published …
How to Make a Freedom of Information Act Request- Part 3
This is Part 3 of a 6 Part Blog Series on “How to Make a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) Request“. Please stay tuned for the other blogs for the full picture! Step 3: Draft and Mail Your Written FOIA Request Letter You cannot make a FOIA request to a federal agency over the telephone. All FOIA requests must be …