For the second year in a row, I have been appointed as the Chair of the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee for the 2012-2013 year. It has been an exciting first year getting the Committee up and going again with two fantastic Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) webinars on crop/livestock insurance and …
So What Exactly is “Sustainable Agriculture?”
Sustainability has been a big buzz word in agriculture over the last few years – but what does it mean? In preparation for this presentation that I gave earlier this month, I found the “legal definition” of “sustainable agriculture” here. Pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 3103, “sustainable agriculture” means an “integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific …
So What If I Don’t Agree If My Marriage Is “Irretrievably Broken?”
As I noted in this post, New York now has “no fault” divorce permitting the court to award a divorce based on one spouse’s sworn statement that the marriage has been “irretrievably broken” for at least the prior six (6) months prior to the commencement of the divorce. So what exactly does it mean for a marriage to be “irretrievably …
Types of Farm Leases: Cash-Rent vs. Crop-Share
Happy Friday! Last week, I stumbled across Rusty Rumley’s powerpoint presentation on “Agricultural Contracts and the Leasing of Land.” Rusty does a great job giving an overview of the building blocks. He’s a great teacher — he was one of my instructors in this agriculture law course last year— and I suggest looking at his presentation along with other useful …
Looking For New Year’s Resolution? How About Disaster Preparedness
Okay, so it’s not the most exciting New Year’s Resolution but it may be a whole lot more doable than dropping 30 pounds in 2012. On page 5 of this month’s Grassroots newspaper by New York Farm Bureau (“NYFB”) includes a nice submission by A. Edward Staehr of NY FarmNet about coping with a disaster (including grief counseling, recreating lost …
Thinking About the Next Generation
The National Agriculture Law Center has reported that approximately 90% of agricultural operations do not survive the transition to the next generation. I have to say- that statistic is a bit alarming. The primary reason for this is poor succession planning. Estate planning is just one part of workable succession plan. Estate planning focuses on asset distribution while succession planning …
“Fridays with Cari” Webinar Series Kicks Off Today
I’m excited for my new webinar series titled “Fridays with Cari.” I will be discussing a variety of agriculture issues with my Friday webinar series ranging from livestock animal cruelty law to estate planning. I believe that legal information should be affordable for everyone in the food and agriculture industry and I hope that my webinars will be educational to …
Where is Your “In Case of An Emergency” Information?
Rincker Law, PLLC provides clients with an estate planning binder so clients can keep photocopies of their Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, Health Proxy, Trusts, and information regarding assets. I also recommend that clients complete this information sheet and include it in the estate planning binder. Furthermore, I also think it is a good idea to complete the …
The Family Business: Hiring and Firing Family Members
I really enjoyed reading the article by Don Tyler titled “Working with Family — Hiring (and Firing) Family Members in this month’s Feedlot magazine (pages 36, 38). It reminded me of the unique challenges that family businesses must face — whether it is a family farm/ranch or any other type of business. Intra-family dynamics can seriously affect the day-to-day operations …
ABA Agriculture Law Subcommittees
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 …
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 …
The Pedigree of a Stockman
On my flight from Denver back to New York City after the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (“NCBA”) Annual Convention and Trade Show, I found a great piece in the Shorthorn Country by Patrick Wall, the Director of Genetic Improvement and Eastern Regional Director for the American Shorthorn Association (don’t tell my dad, but I have always loved fuzzy Shorthorn cattle). …