Legal Education
Sixty-six undergraduate students just completed our Agribusiness Law class in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at OSU yesterday. It’s always a challenge to teach students all I want them to know about agricultural law in the short time I have with them. And it always generates excitement and relief when I can see that they have learned.
In one assignment this semester, students had to consider the property laws we studied and devise three “real life” questions about the laws. Next, they had to write the answers to the questions they drafted. The legal accuracy of their answers is important, of course, and illustrates their comprehension of the laws we studied. But selecting and writing the questions is equally important, as students must predict when and how the law would apply in a “real world” situation they might encounter.
Many of the student works showed that learning had certainly taken place this semester. And some of their questions were so insightful and relevant that they should also be useful in the “real world.” Below are excellent questions and answers from four students. They illustrate what the students learned, but they will likely be helpful for our readers, too. Take a look at what our students are asking and answering about agricultural property laws!
Question 1 comes from Katie Anderholm, a senior from Medina, Ohio majoring in Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
Q: Am I at risk to be sued from my new neighbors who keep complaining about my cows?
A: A farmer is not as risk to be sued, or at least rightfully sued, by their new neighbors because of the Ohio Revised Code 929.04 and 3767.13. Both codes, the Right to Farm defense to civil action for nuisance and Ohio’s “Statutory Nuisance” Law, protect farmers and their operations from complaints regarding farming. The farmer’s neighbors who have been complaining about his cows do not have a strong argument for legal action because the agricultural activities were established before they moved adjacent to the farm. If the farmer is following proper animal care and manure handling and the neighbors moved after the farming began, then the neighbors will not have merit for a civil action. I would advise the farmer to have a conversation with the neighbors to ease tensions and explain that they knowingly moved next to a cattle operation and that there are certain things that come with that. I have learned that people who are not involved in agriculture in their everyday life to not understand the fundamentals, and sometimes education and consideration can go a long way.
Question 2 is from Cori Lee, a senior from Marysville, Ohio, graduating this May with a major in Sustainable Plant Systems Agronomy and a minor in Agribusiness.
Q: Two siblings own ground that was passed on to them by their parents, where one farms, and the other one has no interest in farming. Can one sibling sell the land, even if the other one does not want to? What can be done to prevent losing the ground?
Yes, as co-owners, one sibling can sell their share of the land, even if the other sibling disagrees and is actively using the land for income and farming. This would force the other sibling to either also sell their share of the land or buy the other sibling out. This is explained in Section 5307.01 of the Ohio Revised Code, the partition law. Whether it is considered a “Tenancy in Common” or “Survivorship Tenancy”, they are both subject to partition. The partition process is also explained in Chapter 5307, and is often lengthy and can ultimately result in both owners being forced to sell the land. However, placing the land in an LLC can prevent this situation, as it would remove partition rights completely and the LLC would be treated as the sole owner of the land. This also provides other opportunities to have more control over how the land could be sold and allow terms to be set to buy out other LLC members. In order to avoid a scenario like this, landowners should carefully plan the transition of their estate to avoid any costly mistakes for the next generation.
Question 3 is by Kole Vollrath, a senior from South Charleston, Ohio majoring in Construction Systems Management.
Q: I own a field and the state has contacted me seeking eminent domain for a roadway that they are planning to build cutting directly through my field. I am new to this sort of action and I am wondering what the proper actions will be in this case?
A: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 163 is the eminent domain law that contains the four required procedures the taking entity (the state in this situation) must provide to the landowner. The first is the notice which you have already received, followed by a “just compensation” offer for the land in question, then appraisal of the property, and then finally a hearing in court to decide on or stop the taking if you don't agree to the offer. In the situation of a road as in this case, it is hard to stop the taking, so the fourth option will likely be more about getting fair money out of the deal rather than stopping construction completely. The reason that it will be hard to stop a road construction is because of Ohio Constitution Article 1 Section 19. This explains that eminent domain is allowed to happen when it is for a valid public use of the property, and since this is a road, it will be hard to argue that is not valid. However, it can still be beneficial to the landowner to hold strong in steps 2 and 3 and get an appraisal, then go to court and try to extract fair money for yourself out of the situation.
Question 4 is from Lyndie Williams, a senior from Bucyrus, Ohio majoring in Agribusiness and Applied Economics.
Q: Can I be held accountable for damage to a neighbor’s property that they claim is due to water drainage from my property?
A: In short, yes it is possible to be held accountable for damage to a neighbor’s property if it was caused by water drainage from your property, but not always. While every property owner has the right to reasonably use their land, including water flow and drainage, there can be consequences of this if harm is caused to others. First, determining what is “reasonable” for water drainage when evaluating harm to another is necessary. Courts will look at four factors when determining reasonable drainage: utility of the use, gravity of the harm, practicality of avoiding the harm, and justice. If your purpose for drainage is valid, the harm caused by drainage use is not overly detrimental to others, it is impractical to use an alternative form of drainage, and it is not unfair to require other landowners to bear losses caused by your drainage, then you would not likely be held accountable for damage to their property due to water drainage from your property. However, if some or all of these “reasonable” requirements are not met, then you would need to look into drainage problem resolutions, as you could be accountable for their damages. Drainage problem resolutions include voluntary fix, drainage improvement projects, drainage easements, and litigation. For example, one drainage problem resolution is a drainage easement which is in writing, recorded, and involves an attorney. In a drainage easement you would pay the neighboring landowner for the right to drain your water onto their property for the damages they will incur as a result. Drainage easements are usually perpetual but can be termed and include access and maintenance rights and responsibilities for the easement holder.
Tags: property law, nuisance, Partition, drainage, eminent domain
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Most of us, at some point, will need the services of an attorney. Attorneys seem to be ubiquitous in our society with almost everyone having some idea of what an attorney is or what an attorney does. However, many people may not know what it takes to become an attorney. Understanding the process to become an attorney may help us better understand the legal profession and in turn allow us to make a more informed decision when we need to retain an attorney’s services. The following is a brief summary of the process to become an attorney.
The first step on the path to becoming an attorney is to obtain a four-year undergraduate degree. An undergraduate degree is a minimum requirement to attend law school. Many people who plan to go to law school will obtain an undergraduate degree in history, political science or English. These areas of study are thought to provide a good foundation for law school. However, applicants are accepted to law school with a wide variety of areas of study. From personal experience, law schools will accept an applicant with a B.S. in Dairy Science. Law schools like to have diversity in their student populations. An uncommon degree or atypical degree, like Dairy Science, can make the applicant more attractive by adding diversity to the law school.
There is an exception to the four-year degree requirement. Some law schools may allow someone who has completed 3 years of undergraduate work to complete their fourth year of an undergraduate degree by completing their first year of law school. This is known as the 3+3 program.
Earning a law degree is the next step. It typically takes three years to complete a law degree although some law schools offer a part-time program that takes four years to complete. In the first year or two, students are required to take core law classes such as contracts, constitutional law and criminal law. In the last year of law school, law students take elective courses that match with their interests. The degree awarded upon completing law school is a Juris Doctor (JD). It is possible to go beyond a JD and receive a master’s degree in law (LLM). LLMs are in a focused area of the law such as taxation or agricultural law.
In the last year of law school, students will begin the process of requesting permission to join the state bar. The Ohio Supreme Court oversees the admission of new attorneys. A part of the application process is a character fitness interview. The applicant will meet with two attorneys, usually in their county of residence. The two interviewing attorneys will evaluate whether the applicant has suitable qualities to be an attorney. The evaluation includes a review of prior criminal charges or citations, an analysis of financial stability and an assessment of a demeanor and temperament suitable to practice law. The character fitness review seeks to ensure that new attorneys have the requisite background and character to serve clients.
The next step is to pass a professional conduct exam. Each law student must take an exam that focuses on issues such as conflicts of interest and attorney/client privilege. The professional conduct exam in Ohio is a multiple-choice exam.
After receiving a law degree, passing the character fitness review and successfully completing the professional conduct exam, the law student takes the bar exam. This notorious exam is two days long. Part of the test is multiple choice and part is a written test. The bar exam must be passed before becoming an attorney in Ohio. The exam is taken in person and is available in February and July of every year. The passage rate for the July, 2022 bar exam was 72% for all takers and 80% for first time takers. To put this in perspective, 20% of the people who spent three years in law school and passed all the other requirements were not permitted to be attorneys because they did not pass the bar exam. The bar exam can be taken as many times as needed to pass. Failing a bar exam does not mean the person can never be an attorney, it just means they need to take the bar exam until passed. Upon passing the bar exam, new attorneys are sworn in by a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.
Becoming an attorney is a long process taking at least seven years of school in total. Law schools ensure each new attorney has achieved certain academic standards and the Ohio Supreme Court confirms that every new attorney has some level of competence in the law and has the character fitness to assist clients in their legal endeavors. The next time you hire an attorney, you can be assured that the attorney has met the academic requirements of a law school and the competency and character fitness requirements of the Ohio Supreme Court.
Barry Ward & Julie Strawser, OSU Income Tax Schools
Dealing with the tax provisions of the COVID-related legislation for both individuals and businesses are among the topics to be discussed during the upcoming Tax School workshop series offered throughout Ohio in November and December.
The annual series is designed to help tax preparers learn about federal tax law changes and updates for this year as well as learn more about issues they may encounter when filing individual and small business 2021 tax returns.
OSU Income Tax Schools are intermediate-level courses that focus on interpreting tax regulations and changes in tax law to help tax preparers, accountants, financial planners and attorneys advise their clients. The schools offer continuing education credit for certified public accountants, enrolled agents, attorneys, annual filing season preparers and certified financial planners.
Attendees also receive a class workbook that alone is an extremely valuable reference as it offers over 600 pages of material including helpful tables and examples that will be valuable to practitioners. Summaries of the chapters in this year’s workbook can be viewed at this site:
https://farmoffice.osu.edu/tax/2021-tax-school-chapters
A sample chapter from a past workbook can be found at:
https://taxworkbook.com/about-the-tax-workbook/
This year, OSU Income Tax Schools will offer both in-person schools and an online virtual school presented over the course of four afternoons.
In-person schools:
November 1-2, Presidential Banquet Center, Kettering/Dayton
November 3-4, Ole Zim’s Wagon Shed, Gibsonburg/Fremont
November 17-18, Ashland University John C. Meyer Convocation Center, Ashland
November 22-23, Christopher Conference Center, Chillicothe
November 29-30, Zane State/Ohio University Zanesville Campus, Zanesville
December 2-3, Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, OSU Campus, Columbus
December 6-7, Hartville Kitchen, Hartville
Virtual On-Line School presented via Zoom:
November 8, 12, 15 & 19, 12:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Register two weeks prior to the school date and receive the two-day tax school early-bird registration fee of $400. This includes all materials, lunches and refreshments. The deadline to enroll is 10 business days prior to the date of each school. After the school deadline, the fee increases to $450.
Additionally, the 2022 RIA Federal Tax Handbook is available to purchase by participants for a discounted fee of $50 each. Registration information and the online registration portal can be found online at:
In addition to the tax schools, the program offers a separate, two-hour ethics webinar that will broadcast Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 1 p.m. The webinar is $25 for school attendees and $50 for non-attendees and is approved by the IRS and the Ohio Accountancy Board for continuing education credit.
A webinar on Ag Tax Issues will be held Monday, Dec. 13 from 8:45 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
If you are a tax practitioner that represents farmers or rural landowners or are a farmer or farmland owner that prepares your own taxes, this five-hour webinar is for you. It will focus on key topics and new legislation related specifically to those income tax returns.
Registration, which includes the Ag Tax Issues workbook, is $150 if registered at least two weeks prior to the webinar. After November 29, registration is $200. Register by mail or on-line at https://go.osu.edu/agissues2021.
Participants may contact Ward at 614-688-3959, ward.8@osu.edu or Julie Strawser 614-292-2433, strawser.35@osu.edu for more information.
"Farm Office Live" returns this summer as an opportunity for you to get the latest outlook and updates on ag law, farm management, ag economics, farm business analysis, and other related issues. Targeted to farmers and agri-business stakeholders, our specialists digest the latest news and issues and present it in an easy-to-understand format.
The live broadcast is presented monthly. In months where two shows are scheduled, one will be held in the morning and one in the evening. Each session is recorded and posted on the OSU Extension Farm Office YouTube channel for later viewing.
Current Schedule:
| July 23, 2021 | 10:00 - 11:30 am | December 17, 2021 | 10:00 - 11:30 am |
| August 27, 2021 | 10:00 - 11:30 am | January 19, 2022 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm |
| September 23, 2021 | 10:00 - 11:30 am | January 21, 2022 | 10:00 - 11:30 am |
| October 13, 2021 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm | Februrary 16, 2022 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm |
| October 15, 2021 | 10:00 - 11:30 am | February 18, 2022 | 10:00 - 11:30 am |
| November 17, 2021 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm | March 16, 2022 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm |
| November 19, 2021 | 10:00 - 11:30 am | March 18, 2022 | 10:00 - 11:30 am |
| December 15, 2021 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm | April 20, 2022 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm |
Topics we will discuss in upcoming webinars include:
- Coronavirus Food Assitance Program (CFAP)
- Legislative Proposals and Accompanying Tax Provisions
- Outlook on Crop Input Costs and Profit Margins
- Outlook on Cropland Values and Cash Rents
- Tax Issues That May Impact Farm Businesses
- Legal Trends
- Legislative Updates
- Farm Business Management and Analysis
- Farm Succession & Estate Planning
To register or to view a previous "Farm Office Live," please visit https://go.osu.edu/farmofficelive. You will receive a reminder with your personal link to join each month.
The Farm Office is a one-stop shop for navigating the legal and economic challenges of agricultural production. For more information visit https://farmoffice.osu.edu or contact Julie Strawser at strawser.35@osu.edu or call 614.292.2433
Tags: Farm Office Live, farm management, Farm Succession, Estate Planning, Farm Business, Dairy Production, Farm Tax, Agricultural Law, Resource Law
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There’s an old saying that legislation either lives or dies in committee. Committees and their chairpersons play a critical role in determining whether an idea makes it through the legislative process and becomes a law. So let’s take a look at the new members and chairs of our agriculture committees, recently appointed for the new two-year session of the 134th Ohio General Assembly.
After announcing a change in the committee’s name from “Agriculture and Rural Development” to “Agriculture and Conservation Committee,” House Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) finalized his committee appointments. The new committee will include:
- Rep. Kyle Koehler (R-Springfield) will return as Committee Chair. Now in his fourth term in the Ohio House, Rep. Koehler has a background as a software engineer and working for his family’s tool company but has raised livestock and refers to himself as a hobby farmer. Rep. Koehler recently received the “Friend of Agriculture” endorsement from Ohio Farm Bureau.
- Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria) will serve as the new Committee Vice Chair during his first term in the House. Rep. Creech farms in Preble County, owns a lawn care business, and has served as a township trustee and county commissioner.
- Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) will also return to the committee as its Ranking Member. Rep. Brent is in her second term in the House, with a background in non-profit and community engagement work.
- Rep. Brian Baldridge (R-Winchester)
- Rep. Adam C. Bird (R-New Richmond)
- Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Geneva-on-the-Lake)
- Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo)
- Rep. Don Jones (R-Freeport)
- Rep. Darrell Kick (R-Loudonville)
- Rep. Joseph A. Miller (D-Amherst)
- Rep. Michael J. O’Brien (D-Warren)
- Rep. Jena Powell (R-Arcanum)
- Rep. Michael Sheehy (D-Oregon)
On the Senate side, Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) announced the members of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, which will include:
- Sen. Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) as the new Committee Chair. Sen. Shaffer is in his third term in the Senate and was also elected to the Ohio House for four terms. He is also an association executive in the private sector, and has earned the “Friend of Agriculture” award from Ohio Farm Bureau along with over a dozen other awards for his legislative service.
- Sen. Stephen A. Huffman (R-Tipp City) will serve as the Committee Vice Chair. Following two terms in the House, Sen. Huffman is in his first term as a Senator. Sen. Huffman is a practicing physician and will also chair the Senate’s Health Committee.
- Sen. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) is the committee’s Ranking Minority Member. A two-term Senator also elected to three terms in the House, Sen. Fedor is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Ohio Air National Guard and a retired teacher for Toledo Public Schools.
- Sen. Bob Hackett (R-London)
- Sen. Tina Maharath (D-Columbus)
- Sen. Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula)
- Sen. Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House)
The House Agriculture and Conservation Committee holds its first meeting next Tuesday, February 16. Follow the committee through its website, which includes meeting agendas and minutes, bills under consideration, and video of committee meetings.
The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee began its work last week with consideration of a bill authorizing the use of owls in the sport of falconry. Meeting agendas and bills under consideration are available on the committee’s website
Stay tuned to the Ohio Ag Law Blog for updateson legislative proposals and what bills live or die in our agriculture committees.
Barry Ward & Julie Strawser, OSU Income Tax Schools
Dealing with the tax provisions of the COVID-related legislation for both individuals and businesses are among the topics to be discussed during the upcoming Tax School workshop series offered throughout Ohio in November and December.
The annual series is designed to help tax preparers learn about federal tax law changes and updates for this year, as well as learn more about issues they may encounter when filing individual and small business 2020 tax returns.
The tax schools are intermediate-level courses that focus on interpreting tax regulations and changes in tax laws to help tax preparers, accountants, financial planners and attorneys advise their clients. The schools offer continuing education credit for certified public accountants, enrolled agents, attorneys, annual filing season preparers and certified financial planners.
This is another important year for tax education as the new COVID-related legislation creates some challenges for tax practitioners to prepare tax returns. These schools offer an excellent set of instructors with a great deal of experience and training along with a top reference workbook to prepare tax practitioners to best serve their clients during this ongoing process of incorporating recent tax law changes in completing tax returns.
The workbook alone is an extremely valuable reference as it offers over 700 pages of material including helpful tables and examples that will be valuable to practitioners. Sample chapters of the reference workbook can be found at: https://go.osu.edu/WorkbookChapters
Topics/chapters to be presented this year during the two-day tax schools include:
Financial Distress, S-Corporation Tax Issues, IRS Issues, Business Entity Issues, Agricultural and Natural Resource Issues, Retirement and Investment Issues, Individual Tax Issues, Business Tax Issues, Trusts and Estates, Rulings and Cases, New Legislation.
This year, OSU Income Tax Schools will offer both in-person schools and online virtual schools.
In person schools:
1. Lima – November 2-3
Old Barn Restaurant and Grill
3175 W Elm Street, Lima, OH 45805
2. Fremont – November 4-5
Ole Zim’s Wagon Shed
1375 State Route 590, Gibsonburg, OH 43431
3. Ashland – November 11-12 SOLD OUT
Ashland University
John C. Meyers Convocation Center
820 Clermont Ave., Ashland, OH 44805
4. Dayton – November 17-18
Presidential Banquet Center
4548 Presidential Way, Kettering, OH 45429
5. Columbus – December 10-11 SOLD OUT
Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center
2201 Fred Taylor Dr., Columbus, OH 43221
Virtual Online Schools:
1. Webinar (Zoom)
November 9, 13, 16 and 19
Each Day 12:30 – 5pm
Zoom Webinar
2. Livestream (Zoom)
December 10-11
Livestream of Columbus Tax School Location via Zoom
In addition to the tax schools, the program offers a separate, two-hour ethics webinar that will broadcast Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. The webinar is $25 for school attendees and $50 for non-attendees and is approved by the IRS and the Ohio Accountancy Board for continuing education credit
Register two weeks prior to the school date and receive the two-day tax school early-bird registration fee of $375. This includes all materials, lunches and refreshments. The deadline to enroll is 10 business days prior to the date of each school. After the school deadline, the fee increases to $425.
Additionally, the 2020 RIA Federal Tax Handbook is available to purchase by participants for a discounted fee of $45 each. Registration information and the online registration portal can be found online at:
A webinar on Ag Tax Issues will be held Dec. 18 from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
If you are a tax practitioner that represents farmers or rural landowners or are a farmer or farmland owner that prepares your own taxes, this five-hour webinar is for you. It will focus on key topics and new legislation related specifically to those income tax returns.
Registration, which includes the Ag Tax Issues workbook, is $150. Register by mail or on-line at http://go.osu.edu/agissues2020
Participants may contact Ward at 614-688-3959, ward.8@osu.edu or Julie Strawser 614-292-2433, strawser.35@osu.edu for more information.
Mentoring is a rewarding part of my position with OSU, but it is often a bittersweet experience to see young people come and go. Such is the case with our law fellow Evin Bachelor, whom I’ve had the privilege of mentoring for the past two years. Evin left the Farm Office on September 30 to pursue private practice.
While I’m happy to send Evin off to serve farmers with his brilliant legal mind, I’m sad to see him go. I will miss his passion, his cleverness, his analytical gifts, and his hearty laugh. But it’s been a joy to help Evin evolve from a law student curious about agricultural law to an attorney prepared to impact the world of agricultural law. He has deftly exceeded every challenge I’ve given him.
One of those challenges was to co-author a set of law bulletins on legal documents used in farm financing arrangements, his final project. The Financing the Farm law bulletin series, which specifically targets new and beginning farmers, is now available. The series includes explanations of mortgages, promissory notes, installment contracts, leasing arrangements and secured transactions, and how they’re used in farm financing. Access the law bulletins in the Financing the Farm series here.
Evin will be practicing law with our good friends at Wright & Moore Law Co. LPA in Delaware, Ohio. He's an excellent addition to an already outstanding agricultural law firm. You’ll continue to see his work on the Farm Office, however, as I’ll be contracting with Evin on a few more finance and farm transition projects in the next year. The mentorship and Evin’s time at OSU is over, but the relationship will continue. A bittersweet ending, to be sure.
Tags: Evin Bachelor, farm finance, mortgages, promissory notes, secured transactions, installment contracts, leasing
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Somehow it’s mid-September already, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time for Farm Science Review! We’re excited to get back out to the Molly Caren Agricultural Center to talk with farmers about our latest publications and answer their questions.
Check out the schedule above for the talks we will be giving on solar leasing, hemp law, and food regulations. If you can’t make one of the presentations, or want to learn more about other topics on agricultural law, visit us at our booth in the Firebaugh Building, which is located at 384 Friday Avenue.
We will have free copies of our most popular law bulletins available, including:
- Do’s and Don’ts of Dealing with Trespassers on the Farm
- Ohio’s Line Fence Law: Frequently Asked Questions
- Creating an Enforceable Farmland Lease
- A Checklist of Farmland Lease Provisions
- Ohio’s Recreational User Statute: Limiting Liability for Hunters, Snowmobilers, and More
- Ohio’s Noxious Weed Laws
- And many more!
We will also be bringing along some of our new law bulletins, including:
- Legal or Not? Growing Industrial Hemp in Ohio
- The Farmland Owner’s Solar Leasing Checklist
- Laws that Provide Defenses for Agricultural Production Activities
- Youth Labor on the Farm: Laws Farmers Need to Know
For more information about Farm Science Review, including directions, tickets, and a list of events and exhibitors, visit http://fsr.osu.edu. We’ll see you there!
Written by Evin Bachelor, Law Fellow, OSU Extension Agricultural & Resource Law Program
As fans of Elvis and good barbeque, we can’t help but be excited that the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC) is hosting its sixth annual Mid-South Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference soon in Memphis, Tennessee. Most exciting, however, is that the conference will provide timely legal information for attorneys, lenders, accountants, tax professionals, students and others with a passion for agriculture. The NALC is the nation's leading source of agricultural and food law research and information, and we are honored to partner with NALC on a number of research projects and outreach efforts.
The 2019 conference will be on Friday, June 7th in downtown Memphis at the University of Memphis School of Law. You won’t want to miss the welcome reception on Thursday, June 6th at The Rendezvous Restaurant, which is well known for its Memphis-style BBQ. The schedule on Friday is packed with a diverse mix of speakers and topics that is intended to encourage dialog about the range of legal issues facing agriculture today.
Here’s a sneak peek at the sessions:
- Keynote address by the USDA’s General Counsel Stephen Vaden
- Agricultural Labor and Immigration: Do’s and Don’ts--Brandon Davis of Phelps Dunbar LLP
- Updates from the senior attorneys from the U.S. House and Senate Ag Committees
- Law and Lending in a Down Farm Economy: Recent Trends and Outlooks with Greg Cole of AgHeritage Farm Credit Services and Michael O’Neal of GreenStone Farm Credit Services
- Navigating Environmental Law Issues for Attorneys, Lenders, and Landowners--Jim L. Noles, Jr., Partner, Barze Taylor Noles Lowther, LLC
- The Ethics of Succession Planning for Lawyers--Shannon Ferrell, Oklahoma State University
- Understanding Ag Bankruptcy--Stephen L. Gershner, Davidson Law Firm
In addition to the presentations, there will be time for discussion with conference attendees during the welcome reception on Thursday and a lunch and networking session on Friday. For law practitioners, the conference has been approved for CLE credit in some states and NALC will assist with obtaining CLE credit in other states. The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers has also approved the program for 7 hours of CE credit.
Register by May 14 and receive access to a two-hour bonus online program that will feature a one hour session on Divorce on the Farm with attorney Cari Rincker and agricultural and environmental law updates from around the country by Elizabeth Rumley of NALC, Ross Pifer of the Center for Agricultural & Shale Law at Penn State Law, Stephanie Showalter Otts of the National Sea Grant Law Center and our own Peggy Kirk Hall of the Agricultural & Resource Law Program at The Ohio State University.
For more information about the conference and to register, visit the NALC’s website HERE.
Tags: National Agricultural Law Center, continuing legal education, CLE, conferences
Comments: 0
The American Agricultural Law Association held its national conference last week in Louisville, Kentucky, and two Ohio law students from OSU Moritz College of Law and Capital University Law School took top honors in the student competitions. Evin Bachelor and Devon Alexander joined forces with U. of Houston law student Sara Luther and finished first in the Student Quiz Bowl competition. The Quiz Bowl requires law students to correctly answer questions about law, agriculture and agricultural law.
Bachelor also entered and won first place in the Student Poster Competition with his research project titled "Ohio: The Midwestern Ag Mediation Holdout." Bachelor discussed the potential for Ohio to become one of the last midwestern states to engage in USDA's Agricultural Mediation Program. Bachelor is a third year law student at OSU's Moritz College of Law and Alexander is a second year law student at Capital University Law School. Both hope to work in the agricultural law arena after law school.
OSU was able to send the students to the conference due to the generous support of the Paul L. Wright Endowment in Agricultural Law at OSU.
For more information about the American Agricultural Law Association, visit https://www.aglaw-assn.org/.
Tags: AALA, American Agricultural Law Association
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