PurdueAgricultures
Purdue alumni in ag law
Life on the Farm...
Not So Simple Anymore
By Keith Robinson
Used to be that Alan Townsend would get only an occasional case involving agriculture in his law practice.
Now, the Purdue Agriculture alumnus says he spends 25 to 40 percent of his time representing clients in agricultural legal matters, including some that go to court. "Having grown up on a farm, I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times we ever had to call a lawyer," he says.
Three decades later, that has changed.
"I have seen a steady stream of agricultural disputes," says Townsend, an agricultural lawyer and vice chairman of the litigation group of Bose McKinney & Evans in Indianapolis.
Running a farm or other agribusiness today is far more complicated than it was 30 years ago. There are more government regulations, more people watching out for the environment—the buzzword is "green"—and more ways for farmland to be used, including for alternative energy operations such as wind farms.
All of that leads to more work for lawyers who specialize in agricultural and environmental law, whether they represent family farmers, large-scale producers or groups of people trying to right a wrong, get something started or stop something from happening. Purdue Agriculture graduates who have pursued legal careers are using their background to fill a growing niche in the law.
Building Relationships Through Ag
Townsend grew up on a hog farm near Hartford City, Ind. A son of former State Sen. W. Wayne Townsend, he comes from one of Indiana's most prominent agricultural families. He went from the farm to Purdue University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics in 1987. He earned his J.D. from Indiana University in 1992.
Townsend says what people want from a lawyer is someone who understands their business—in this case, farming.
Bose McKinney colleague Gary Chapman, chair of the firm's agricultural law group, agrees. His agricultural background comes in handy with his work in property acquisitions, estate planning and general business planning for his agricultural clients. He grew up on a Holstein dairy operation in Morgan County and received a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from Purdue in 1980 (J.D. IU 1989). He says his background helps in building strong relationships with clients who are producers or whose businesses are otherwise focused on agriculture.
"The client really appreciates talking to someone who knows the difference between a steer and a bull," Chapman says.
Producers are more likely to seek counsel of a lawyer today because of the mounting complexities of the legal issues they face. There are fewer producers, but Chapman says their operations are larger and the producers are wiser. "The players are getting much more sophisticated," he says. "They are in a much better position to afford and therefore use and see the benefits of good legal counsel."
They also are more cautious, in part because of expanding government regulations. Townsend says that is true especially for operators of hog farms, which state regulators visit often. "When they have a regulator knocking on their door, they think to themselves, 'Do I let him in or do I call my lawyer and ask what my rights are?'" he says
"Green" Brings Compliance
Rising concern about the environment, often intertwined with agriculture, is keeping lawyers busy. At Plews Shadley Racher & Braun in Indianapolis, all 39 lawyers are involved in environmental law to some degree.
Partner Sue Shadley received a bachelor's degree in natural resources and environmental science from Purdue in 1974 (J.S. IU 1977) and has spent her entire career in environmental law, including as general counsel of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
As the "green" wave spreads through business, companies today are more eager to comply with environmental regulations, Shadley says. "Before, they complied because they had to. Now they want to do it. They see the benefit in promoting themselves as green."
Most of Shadley's private practice has been in regulation of solid and hazardous waste, but it extends to state and federal regulation of mining, air quality, water quality and environmental cleanup.
In 2008 Shadley successfully represented the owner of a Port Arthur, Texas, hazardous waste incinerator contracted to burn the neutralized byproduct of VX, a deadly chemical nerve agent that had been stockpiled at the Newport Chemical Depot north of Terre Haute, Ind., for nearly 40 years. Area residents, spurred on by a group that opposed interstate transport of the material, sought a court order to halt the shipments. The residents lost, and all of the material was safely shipped to the incinerator.
Shadley also handled a case for the owners of a Fort Wayne refuse landfill who wanted to expand the operation into an area containing 30 acres of wetlands. To obtain the required permit, the owners had to abide by a law mandating that for every acre of wetlands they took, they must create three. As a result, 90 acres of wetlands were established on the other side of the landfill, with hiking trails added to help teach the public how wetlands benefit the environment.
Today, a focus on environmental oversight has shifted from landfills to concentrated animal feeding operations, commonly called "CAFOs." "Inspectors who used to inspect landfills are now inspecting CAFOs," Shadley says. "CAFOs are paralleling what landfills went through."
Owners now must have a federal permit to operate a CAFO. "It's just now happening that environmental law is impacting agriculture," Shadley says.
A "Windfall" for Farmers
All you have to do is drive along Interstate 65 north of Lafayette, Ind., to see a 21st-century effect on landowners—wind farms. Hundreds of turbines revolving in the breeze generate electricity as a renewable energy source.
Much property in north-central Indiana is well-suited for wind farms because of what Tim Ochs of the Ice Miller law firm in Indianapolis calls a "sweet spot" of air current that moves through Benton County east to Tipton County.
Ochs, who earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Purdue in 1989 (J.D. IU 1992), represents a group of landowners in Fayette County in east-central Indiana where a wind farm is proposed. The wind is not as favorable as it is farther north, but the area has excellent access to the nation's electrical grid because of unused industrial power lines there—an important, cost-saving consideration.
Among the group of landowners are farmers, because companies searching for land to start a wind farm look mostly in rural areas. Some wind farms cover thousands of acres and affect hundreds of property owners—not just those with turbines on their land but also those with surrounding property who would have to agree to restrict use of their land.
"Farmers are always involved," Ochs says.
Property owners need representation from a lawyer who understands leasing and myriad other legal issues. There are contracts for as long as 30 years covering such matters as how much a property owner will be paid for leasing land, portions of the property that will be cleared for access and what will be done with farm soil dug up for turbines. Also to be considered are how high property taxes will rise, whether the wind farm could harm wildlife and what happens when the lease ends: Who removes the turbines and cables, and will the land be restored so it can be farmed again?
"You have to work through all of that," says Ochs, whose primary practice is in real estate law, including development, land use and zoning, leasing and finance.
Most landowners, including farmers, like the idea of using their land for a wind farm, Ochs says, because they typically can make $10,000 to $20,000 a year per turbine. "It can be a financial windfall for farmers," Ochs says, grinning as he immediately recognizes his play on words.
While most farmers would give up relatively little land for access roads and placement of turbines and cables, the bottom line for them is knowing that they and their livelihood are protected while causing no harm to life and property, Ochs says.
"They want to know that they can still farm."
Contact Keith Robinson at robins89@purdue
Related Sidebar: Younger folk wandering off farm in search of careers,yet want the ties
Purdue Agricultures / Story Link/
1