Law Commons^™

2022 Census Of Agriculture: Nebraska Highlights, Kathleen Brooks, Bradley Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

In February 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service published data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture. This data is collected every five years. The current article highlights a few of the Nebraska numbers. Two significant highlights from the data are the total number of farms and the total value of production. U.S. farm numbers declined modestly in the U.S. from 2.04 million in 2017 to 1.90 million in 2022. The total value of production for U.S. farms and ranches increased substantially from $388.5 billion in 2017 to $543.1 billion in 2022. Crop production accounted for …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

2023 Ag Law Legislative Update, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Covers agricultural law legislation in the Nebraska Unicameral in 2023, including LB 401 (Nebraska mesonet system funding), LB 591 (farmland leases), and LB 662 (livestock nuisance lawsuits).

2022 Nebraska Ballot Issues, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Three issues will be on the 2022 statewide ballot, one proposed by the Nebraska Unicameral and two added to the ballot by initiative petition. The three issues are: 1) public payments to expand commercial airline service; 2) requiring photo IDs for voting; and 3) increasing the Nebraska minimum wage from $9/hour to $15/hour.

Setting The Stage For The Next Farm Bill Debate, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

The 2018 Farm Bill is set to expire in September 2023. New farm bill legislation will be needed by then if authority is to be extended for a wide range of programs from farm support to conservation, nutrition assistance, credit, trade promotion, rural development, research and education, and more.

The agricultural committees in Congress have already held initial hearings and many agricultural and other interest groups have noted their policy priorities. However, formal debate on a new farm bill is not expected to begin in earnest until early 2023 when a new session of Congress convenes.

While the formal debate …

Flint Michigan Drinking Water Crisis, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Briefly covers the Flint, Michigan drinking water crisis including providing some background, a timeline of events, and key takeaways from the perspective of public policy.

This article was originally prepared for distribution to students in Aiken's AECN 357 environmental and natural resources law course.

Scotus Invalidates Obama Clean Power Plan, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

On June 30, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in the case of West Virginia v. EPA that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could not implement the 2016 Obama administration Clean Power Plan (CPP). This article briefly discusses the CPP, the CPP litigation, the Court's opinion in West Virginia v. EPA, and what the decision means for Biden administration climate policy.

The Rise Of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Their Effects, And How We Can Stop Their Growth, Andrea Prisco

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Dramatic changes in the agricultural industry over the last century have led to the rise of concentrated animal feeding operations– industrial facilities that raise a large number of animals in confined spaces. Animals raised in these facilities suffer from poor quality of life and abuse. For humans, these facilities have had adverse effects on the environment and public health, but they are also associated with high productivity and low food costs. This Comment analyzes the effects of concentrated animal feeding operations on animal well-being, the environment, and public health. This Comment also analyzes current federal legislation that helps combat the …

Combatting Climate Change Through Conservation Easements, Claire Wright

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Where's The Beef? Meat Shortages, Farmer Needs, And Long-Term Recovery Policies In A Pandemic Era, Kim Vu-Dinh

Faculty Scholarship

COVID-19 not only affected every hospital bed in the nation--if not the world; it also affected nearly every dinner table in America and beyond. Supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic highlighted deep-seated problems with how we get our meat, and how difficult we make it for American farmers to sell to the family next door. Within a few months of the first reported case in the US, hundreds of workers from just two meat-processing plants on American shores became infected with COVID-19, and imports from around the world came to a standstill as factories and shipping companies were forced …

Who Owns This? Ways That Property Can Be Owned And Transferred In Nebraska, Jessica Groskopf, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Discusses ways that property can be owned and transferred in Nebraska in the context of farm management in Nebraska, United States.

Iowa Land And Landowners: Fear Or Opportunity, Neil D. Hamilton

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Our relation to the land changed as modern agriculture changed. Today many issues involving the land seem to focus on fear and conflict, revealing a fragility of agriculture surprising for how it confounds the expected image of strength and stability. In many ways, our fragile relation to the land contrasts to the optimism of the relation in the past, in the years of settlement and expansion. Part of the change reflects the adverse impacts of modern agriculture catching up with us, and part stems from a society more willing to focus on issues of equity, inclusion, and inequality. The good …

The Pandemic, Climate Change And Farm Subsidies, Allen H. Olson, Edward J. Peterson

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Many people believe that once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, life will return to the way it was. This belief is both unrealistic and dangerous. It is unrealistic because the virus will be around for years if not indefinitely. The timeframe for the worst of the pandemic will depend on our ability to administer effective vaccines worldwide and the public’s willingness to accept continued social distancing in the meantime. The damage done to public health, the economy and individuals is already substantial and will get worse. Recovery will be slow and incomplete. The belief that life will return to the …

Herding History: Law And The Transformation Of Collective Subjectivities In The Dairyspheres Of Ukraine, Monica Eppinger

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In response to the limitations of socialism and capitalism in meeting basic needs, this article explores the alternative version of modernity offered in post-Soviet Ukraine and its agriculture. Tracing a century of fundamental transformations through the story of milk, it finds a history that troubles universalized framings of indigeneity and colonialism. This article argues that under socialism milk became a product of collectivized effort and a reservoir of household resilience; and then, with post-Soviet disintegration of some forms of collective life and emergence of others, that milk has come to delineate spheres of both collective action and individual striving. This …

Can Small Farmers Survive?: Problems Of Commercializing The Milk Value Chain In Pakistan, Erum Sattar

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Milk in Pakistan is infused with the self-understanding of a nation. British colonial administrators laid the modern-day foundations of the country’s structure through land grants to small farmers. In an agricultural country where nearly forty percent of the population remains food insecure, rearing animals is a way of life in the rural areas where milk remains an important source of animal protein. Selling the daily surplus that families don’t consume is a significant source of earnings for cash poor families – and here an unprecedented change is taking place within dairy management and milk procurement systems. The scale of this …

A Meating Of The Minds: Possible Pitfalls And Benefits Of Certified Organic Livestock Production And The Prodigious Potential Of Brazil, Adam Schlosser

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Certified organic food represents the fastest growing segment of food production in both the United States and throughout the entire world. This article examines the issues and opportunities facing both large and small-scale farmers who wish to engage in organic livestock production. Organic regulations cover everything involved in production, starting with the organic certification process and concluding with slaughter and the subsequent shipping and sale of the end organic product. The final section of this article addresses the unique ability of Brazil - described alternatively as "the world's warehouse" and the "world's [future] source of food" - to increase the …

Increasing Groundwater Recharge Activity In The San Joaquin Valley Of California, Jacob Willhite, Jacob Willhite

Agricultural Education and Communication

Over the past several decades, groundwater has become a primary source of water used for agriculture in California. Surface water available for agricultural use has depleted due to declining rain totals and reallocation to environmental purposes. As a result, groundwater overdraft has become a severe challenge, especially in the San Joaquin Valley of California. This excessive overdraft causes a plethora of issues, one of the most serious being land subsidence (Faunt, Sneed, Traum, & Brandt, 2016). Studies suggest some areas of the San Joaquin Valley have experienced more than a 28-foot drop in the land level since the 1970’s (Alley …

Impact Of Pesticide Regulation On Innovation In The United States And European Union, Brooke D. Schafer

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Newsroom: From Farm To School 1-2-2018, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Adapting To The Changing Tide: An Evaluation Of California’S Drought Policies And Future Mitigation Strategies, Lauren Dorsey

CMC Senior Theses

California endured an extreme and prolonged drought from 2012 until the winter of 2017, offering a fascinating yet tragic example of how drought impacts lives. Despite this recent and stark phenomenon, there is surprisingly little information about its effects and implications. This thesis aims to lessen this knowledge gap by asking how severe the drought was, how well the state responded, and what policies would increase California’s water security. It answers these questions by exploring the Golden State’s long and complicated water management history, which is necessary to understand the current drought policy framework; then, it collects the emerging literature …

The Potential Impact Of Heir Property On Timber Management In The Southeastern United States, Becky Barlow, Conner Bailey

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Abstract

Active timberland management maintains forest health and productivity, which in turn contributes to the sustainability of the resource and wealth of the landowner. However, when land is held as heir property, options for timberland management are often limited. Heir property is owned as an undivided interest among many heirs of an original owner, or multiple generations of owners, who died intestate. This is common among African American landowners in the South. As a result the title is considered “clouded,” limiting access to capital and resources that are beneficial to timberland management. In this paper, the authors hope to improve …

When Discharge Of Indebtedness Occurs In Bankruptcy, Neil Harl

Neil E. Harl

The farm debt crisis of the 1980’s left numerous legacies, not the least of which is the continuing discharge of indebtedness from formal and informal resolutions of excessive debt. The various rules on when discharge of indebtedness occurs have created surprising and painful results for some taxpayers.

Single Class Of Stock In S Corporations, Neil Harl

Neil E. Harl

Almost from the day of enactment of Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code in 1958, the single class of stock requirement has generated questions that have led to extensive litigation, repeated attempts to address the issues by regulation and numerous rulings in an effort to resolve the issues involved. The major area of concern has been the line between debt securities and equity interests, particularly where the debt securities represented shareholder loans.

When Discharge Of Indebtedness Occurs If The Debtor Is Not In Bankruptcy, Neil Harl

Neil E. Harl

As was noted in the March 30, 1990 issue of Agricultural Law Digest, whether discharge of indebtedness occurs for debtors in bankruptcy depends upon the chapter of the Bankruptcy Code. For Chapter 12 debtors, discharge of indebtedness takes place upon completion of payments under the plan. For debtors not in bankruptcy, the rules for when discharge of indebtedness take place are different and the consequences are also quite different.

Transfer Of Residence With Continued Occupancy, Neil Harl

Neil E. Harl

The rule has been well established that a transfer of a residence to a spouse with occupancy by the transferring spouse until death, would not result in inclusion of the value of the residence in the transferor's gross estate under a theory of a retained life estate. The courts have consistently required proof of at least an implied agreement between the husband and wife (assuming the transferring spouse continued occupancy) before that spouse is held to have retained possession or enjoyment so as to require inclusion of the residence in the gross estate. If the transferor is to prevail, it …

Taxing Joint Tenancy Property, Neil Harl

Neil E. Harl

Although joint tenancy (and tenancy by the entirety in the few states where that form of co-ownership is recognized) is apparently used less frequently than three or four decades ago, joint ownership is still widely used, particularly for real property co-ownership. A recent decision has focused attention on the issue of income tax basis of joint tenancy (or tenancy by the entirety) property after the death of the first joint tenant to die.

Deferred Payment Sales: Amt Liability, Neil E. Harl

Neil E. Harl

Since enactment of the Installment Sales Revision Act of 1980, which permitted the installment sale of grain and livestock, questions have been raised regarding the continuing availability of the deferred payment procedure established by cases and rulings. In recent years, the importance of the question of whether both procedures can be used has been magnified by the 1986 enactment subjecting installment sales of inventory property to potential liability for alternative minimum tax.6 A recent IRS technical advice memorandum (TAM) has provided some insight to the IRS national office position on the two issues — (1) are installment sales of inventory …

Gifts Of Grain And Other Farm Commodities, Neil E. Harl

Neil E. Harl

The sale of assets held by the taxpayer primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business (such as grain or market livestock) usually produces ordinary income. That rule has encouraged gifts of grain and other farm commodities to spouses, children, grandchildren or other family members who are not considered to be holding the gift property for sale to customers. The outcome is capital asset treatment for gains and avoidance of liability for self-employment tax.

Leasing Personal Property, Neil Harl

Neil E. Harl

Appearance of the note on Part I of the 1992 edition of Schedule E, Form 1040, that taxpayers are to "report income and expense from the rental of personal property on Schedule C or C-EZ" has raised concerns about the proper reporting of rentals from personal property such as farm machinery rented after retirement to children or others. Several high profile audits in which examining agents have taken a relatively aggressive stance on the issue have added to the concerns.