The below presentation was prepared for the upcoming American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) Annual Educational Symposium to be held in Oklahoma City, OK. This presentation will be given in the stockyards on October 6, 2016. It first lays the background of the Veterinary Feed Directive (“VFD”) and then delves into the requirements of various stakeholders including (1) veterinarians, (2) livestock producers, …
New York Fence Law
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 …
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 …
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, …
How to Make a Freedom of Information Act Request – Part 1
This is Part 1 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 1: Decide If It Is Necessary To File a FOIA Request Not all agency records require a written FOIA request. In 1996, Congress passed the Electronic Freedom of Information …
Overview of FOIA for Food and Agriculture Businesses in New York
You may find a time when you want to see the documents available to the public about yourself or your food or agriculture operation. There are two main federal statutes that guide the process of obtaining information from the federal government: (i) Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and (ii) Privacy Act (“PA”). In New York, requests can be made to …
Podcast Appearance on Book Publishing with Legal Marketing Studio
Super pumped for Michael Meyer, corporate photographer extraordinaire,for his new podcast called the “Legal Marketing Studio“, available via SoundCloud and iTunes. The podcast was just released and I’m in Episode 3 on book publishing. I talk about my New York food and agriculture book (my first child) and my recently published book on New York divorce and family law (both …
Alleged Violation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)? Seeking a Civil Monetary Penalty in Lieu of Permanent Disqualification
Accepting SNAP benefits allows a retailer to provide staple foods to members of the community who would be otherwise unable to afford basics. Being licensed to accept SNAP benefits also comes with the responsibility of ensuring that all SNAP regulations are followed. This includes ensuring that employees do not allow customers to use SNAP benefits for unauthorized items, such as …