Agribusiness is a major industry in the United States, with billions of dollars contributing to the country’s GDP. It involves a variety of industries, including animal agriculture (dairy, beef and chicken), food producers, co-ops and manufacturers.
Agricultural lawyers help agribusinesses navigate the legal challenges they face. These challenges can include issues such as groundwater and irrigation, farm labor, business finance and estate planning.
Agricultural Law
Agricultural law encompasses the legal issues that arise when farmers, livestock producers and their businesses conduct activities related to agricultural production. These include soil preparation, seed planting, crop harvesting, farming and viticulture (growing grapes), apiculture (bee-raising), dairying, poultry, and ranching.
Whether you are starting a new farm, acquiring land for a farm, or planning the estate of your family’s heirs, it is important to have a dedicated farm lawyer who understands the intricacies of agriculture law and is experienced in navigating the ever-changing laws that affect agricultural business. At Daley Zucker, LLC, we are committed to staying on top of the ever-changing and complex agricultural laws and regulations so that we can assist you with all your legal needs and keep your farm running smoothly.
Some of the most common agricultural law areas that we deal with include water, environmental, labor, marketing, land use, pesticide use and seed issues. We also obtain licenses and permits that agricultural entities may need to operate.
Another area of focus for agricultural lawyers is assisting their clients with establishing and managing agricultural cooperatives. Cooperatives allow producers to pool resources and share risk in the production, processing, storage and sale of their goods. However, with a variety of controversies surrounding this form of business, it is vital to have an agricultural lawyer who is familiar with cooperative law and can provide legal counseling.
Additionally, agribusiness lawyers often help their clients manage their employee contracts. As the labor pool changes and new labor laws are passed, it can be difficult for a farm to know how to hire, fire or discipline an employee.
Similarly, agribusiness lawyers may be called on to resolve disputes between companies and their suppliers regarding the supply of goods and services. These disputes can lead to lawsuits, so it is important to have an attorney who can represent your company and negotiate for the best possible outcome.
Agribusiness lawyers represent a variety of different client types in the agricultural industry, including chemical and fertilizer suppliers, agricultural equipment manufacturers and distributors, grain handlers, food processors, retail food and fiber outlets, transporters, and energy providers. They help their clients to establish new businesses and divisions, bring products to market, manage supply chain pressures, and navigate the constantly-changing issues that impact agricultural and food businesses.
Intellectual Property
Most agribusiness lawyers spend a lot of time focusing on contracts, litigation, and employee issues. However, there’s another area of law that often gets little attention, but is important to the success of a company: intellectual property (IP).
Intellectual property is an intellectual asset that protects original works of the mind, such as inventions, designs, trademarks, and copyrights. In most countries, patents, trademarks, and copyrights are the primary types of IP rights.
As the world becomes increasingly complex, so is the need to protect the unique ways that companies operate and communicate with customers. This requires intellectual property protection for everything from new genetically modified crops and drought-resistant seeds to brand names, marketing strategies, and equipment design.
Attorneys in this practice group help clients to obtain and maintain legal protection for their patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret rights. We also work with clients to ensure compliance with federal, state, and international regulations governing their agricultural technologies and products.
The law pertaining to patents and plant breeders’ rights is complicated, especially with respect to living organisms. For instance, it is currently possible to patent a plant’s genetic material, which is not always clear whether this should be considered as an invention or a product.
For this reason, agribusiness attorneys should be knowledgeable about these areas of law. This will help them to better understand their clients’ needs and provide appropriate solutions for those problems.
In addition, they should be able to explain how these types of intellectual property are legally protected from unauthorized use by others. This is called intellectual property infringement and can be a civil or criminal violation of law depending on the type of IP and the jurisdiction involved.
As a result of this complexity, it’s critical to hire an experienced agribusiness lawyer who understands the intricacies of IP laws and can help your business avoid legal disputes. Gutwein Law’s intellectual property experts have extensive experience in this area and can advise you on how to best protect your ideas and future farm assets.
Contract Negotiations
When agribusinesses seek to enter into contracts with other parties, they need an agribusiness lawyer who is knowledgeable in all aspects of contract negotiation. A skilled contract attorney can help a business owner understand the risks and benefits of any deal and negotiate on his or her behalf to achieve a favorable outcome for the business.
Agribusiness attorneys can also handle legal issues that are unique to the agribusiness industry, such as employment contracts and environmental compliance. Agribusinesses are often required to comply with federal and state laws regarding pesticides, water use, waste disposal, zoning, and runoff. Agribusiness attorneys can counsel clients on effective compliance and assist with litigation if disputes arise.
The best agribusiness lawyers are well-versed in the complex laws and regulations that impact agricultural operations, such as zoning and land use laws. An agribusiness attorney who has experience dealing with these laws could help clients avoid costly litigation and save time and money.
In addition to legal expertise, contract negotiations require an understanding of the parties’ expectations and a willingness to make compromises in order to reach an agreement. Negotiators need the ability to control their emotions and recognize others’ feelings, as well as to stay calm and patient in face of opposition.
As with all negotiations, it’s important to keep the main goal of the deal in mind — i.e., achieving the highest possible profit for the business. This enables the contract negotiator to keep the other party focused on his or her own goals and avoid getting bogged down in issues that aren’t as important.
It’s also important to prepare for the negotiation by benchmarking your salary and standard benefits expectations against similar roles in the industry. This will allow you to be honest and open about the salary you’re asking for, without causing any surprise.
Another key strategy is to prioritize your goals, and then decide which are most important for achieving your main objective. Knowing your highest priorities will help you strategically approach the negotiation and make decisions that benefit the business and you most.
Litigation
Whether you are a farmer, rancher, landowner or agricultural producer, you need an attorney who understands the legal issues surrounding your business. An experienced agribusiness lawyer can help you navigate the law, deal with regulatory compliance issues, counsel on employment and labor laws, and litigate any disputes that arise from day-to-day operations.
Having an agribusiness lawyer on your side can be especially helpful if you are planning to sell your farm, purchase another farm or merge with another agribusiness. Having someone who can assist you with land sales, 1031 exchanges, business formations to limit your liability, contract disputes, equipment purchases, zoning and estate planning will save you time and money in the future.
The agribusiness industry has grown to represent over $1 trillion of the United States economy. It is constantly changing, relying on scientific developments, technological efficiencies, global trade and government support and regulation to create, distribute, and consume food, fiber and other products.
Agribusinesses must be able to adapt quickly and efficiently to the demands of the marketplace. This requires legal guidance on everything from business entity formation, to obtaining permits and licenses, to navigating the ever-changing landscape of agricultural law.
Having an agribusiness attorney on your side to assist you with these issues will allow you to focus on your day-to-day operations. This is invaluable for small and mid-sized businesses, which often lack the time to dedicate to legal matters.
Agribusiness litigation can be a lengthy process, requiring the services of an attorney with extensive experience handling disputes between parties. These can include contractors, suppliers, buyers, brokers, insurance companies, equipment manufacturers and landowners. An experienced agribusiness lawyer will be able to represent you effectively and negotiate settlements when necessary to avoid costly and lengthy litigation down the road.