It has been an astonishingly busy two months. Here’s what we’ve been up to lately:
We just returned from the American Agricultural Law Association annual conference in the glorious city of Nashville, TN. Is it just me, or does it seem as though everyone you meet in Nashville has extraordinary musical talents. We caught up with old friends and alumni, and participated in a panel discussion on cottage food laws alongside Professor Jason Jones of the Charlotte School of Law and Beth Crocker, General Counsel to the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Also got a chance to meet up with one of my favorite writers, Clare Leschin-Hoar at The Oak Bar in the Hermitage Hotel, where I killed the fried green tomatoes.
We did play a little hooky so H could pick out his first pumpkin.
We are in deep-preparation mode for a few more upcoming academic events. Coming up this Monday, October 29, Cari Rincker and I are headed to Pace University School of Law, our old law school, to host a Continuing Legal Education course on food law. The event is open to the public, but attorneys can get CLE credit for attending. Cari and I are big believers in the burgeoning “Food Law” brand, so we put together a course that will convey to the attendees just how uniquely the food system is regulated and how these special regulations can affect new farmers and food entrepreneurs. Follow the link to register!
We are also headed back to Iowa on behalf of the Farmer Veteran Coalition in early November. We’ll participate in the very first national meeting of the Farmer Veteran Coalition, as well as moderate a panel discussion at the Third Drake Forum on America’s New Farmers on November 8 and 9. My good buddy Ed Cox will be debuting a lecture I am very much anticipating, “Legal Issues in Developing Retail Agriculture”. Get ready for us to plagiarize you, Ed.
Our latest article has been published in the fall issue of Cornell’s Small Farm Quarterly, and we now have a recurring column there called “The Policy Corner” which will begin appearing in the upcoming Winter Issue.
Finally, we’ve been invited to be a member of the Regulatory and Academic Committee of the American Cheese Society. We made some great relationships when presenting at the last conference in Raleigh, North Carolina and look forward to providing the very talented members of this organization with the legal guidance they need to compete in a highly regulated industry.
I know I said “finally” but I lied. One more thing – we’ll also be presenting at the Carolina Meat Conference on December 3 and 4. We’d better put on a good show. A room full of butchers know how to make a bad presenter ‘go away’.
