Agricultural Law

The newsletter of ISBA’s Section on Agricultural Law

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2008 Articles

4H and FFA income tax By Paul A. Meints September 2008 Your client’s 16-year-old child is involved with the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program at his high school.
Country Roads: Take Me Home? By James R. Myers November 2008 A look at the origins of country roads and some of the resulting consequences.
Estate and gift tax changes for 2009 By Mike Drone November 2008 Several changes in the estate and gift tax law go into effect in 2009.
The Farmdoc project extends education to farmers, attorneys By A. Bryan Endres, Stephanie B. Johnson, Donald L. Uchtmann, & Scott H. Irwin September 2008 The University of Illinois’ Farm Decision Outreach Central, commonly known as the farmdoc project, is an extension program that aims to improve risk-based farm decision-making through education and research.
Farmer’s rights as to prepaid farm supplies after the supplier closes its doors By Kenneth R. Eathington December 2008 Many farmers prepay their anticipated farm supplies for an upcoming crop year.
Farmland values and credit conditions By David B. Oppedahl April 2008 The largest annual increase in farmland values, 16 percent, in almost three decades highlighted an amazing year for agriculture in the Seventh Federal Reserve District.
A few notes from the Editor By Jeffrey A. Mollet September 2008 A busy time for agriculture! Rising commodities prices, increasing input costs, appreciating land values…Here are some Internet sites that might be of interest and which may assist you.
Important new decision interprets certain provisions of the Packers and Stockyards Act By Jerry W. Quick October 2008 On July 21st the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down its decision in the case of Cody Wheeler; Don Davis; Davey Williams v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. [---3rd---, 2008 WL 2789319(C.A.5, Tex)]
Life estate transaction legal considerations By Alan E. Stumpf February 2008 To serve our clients better we need to be thinking and counseling about a number of future responsibility, transaction and taxation issues.
NEPA and the economic impacts of biotechnology on the food-feed supply chain By A. Bryan Endres & Thomas P. Redick September 2008 A brief summary of recent developments in agricultural biotechnology.
New Payment Eligibility and Payment Limitation Provisions—Notice PL-173 August 2008 Editor’s Note - the following comes to us hot off the press from the USDA. Many thanks to long-time (but not old) Section Council member David Hoff for keeping us informed.
Rural lender advantage By Lewis F. Matuszewich September 2008 The United States Small Business Administration has introduced a modification of one of its loan programs, specifically designed to foster economic development in rural areas.
Ty/Walk follow-up: Farmer wins elevator case By John W. Damisch October 2008 In 2001 Ty/Walk, with grain elevators in Kendall and Will Counties, closed its doors. The Illinois Department of Agriculture took over the elevator operation.
Vote for humane farming and nobody gets (as) hurt By Amy A. Breyer May 2008 no federal law protects animals from cruelty during their lives on the farm, and most state cruelty laws exempt “customary” practices anyway, such as debeaking or use of gestation crates and battery cages, no matter how cruel those practices are from a commonsense standpoint.