The Food Lawyer

If you are going to treat your farm like a business, you will need to think about seeking protection for the trademark rights to your logo and marketing materials. 

A typical farmer, say one who produces commodity crops like soybeans or milk, has absolutely no need of trademark protection because they take no part in the marketing of the stuff they make. The job of the commodity producer is to…

The Food Lawyer

A recurring theme of mine is the agricultural exceptionalism that pervades the legal system. There is an idea that laws should treat farmers differently than other people, and they certainly are. Us law geeks talk about what justifies this separate treatment - the farmers’ reputation for integrity, their political good-will, the vital necessity of a stable food system - but none of us can really agree. We just know…

The Food Lawyer

At midnight on December 31, 2011, a Washington State law expired which  exempted farm interns from the state's minimum wage requirements. It is now illegal for unpaid interns to work on farms in the state, depriving farmers an economical opportunity to provide young, aspiring farmers with on-the-job training. 

A farm owner is a…

The Food Lawyer: Incorporating your Farm

I always say, treat your farm like a business. Think of this as a continuous process, but it is a process that begins with selecting an appropriate corporate entity under which you may conduct the affairs of your farm. 

There is ample reason to form a company to run your farm. Forming a company will protect your personal assets from the obligations of the company. Company obligations…

The Food Lawyer

There is no better time than winter to think about how to improve your enterprise during the next growing season. If you find yourself gathered around the fire with fellow agrarians, discuss with them the possibility of an agricultural cooperative. 

Cooperatives offer the limited liability protection of other corporate forms but with one significant difference. Cooperatives are owned exclusively by their…

The Food Lawyer Blog

I consider myself to be a practical activist. I want to see people start to think about food, farming, and sustainability differently. I do that by giving legal advice to a new generation of energetic and eager men and women that are starting to grow food in a different way. These entrepreneurs are changing the way we think about food and the way we eat. I am drawn to these folks as clients because I know that…