An Ode to Agriculture

By EmmaRose Strohl, Esq., Barley Snyder

I am often asked what kind of work I do as a food & agriculture attorney in Barley Snyder’s Food & Agribusiness Group. “It depends on the day, we do a lot of different things,” is my response.

It’s been a tough year for farmers – but how many years can we say that’s not the truth? The families that grow the crops and raise livestock to put food on our tables and clothes on our backs face unique challenges that the rest of the world doesn’t. Take, for example, the recent pandemics. Yes, plural. While our firm was helping the rest of the world navigate a new normal “post-COVID,” Barley Snyder’s Food & Agribusiness Industry Group was also serving as a 24-hour hotline for poultry producers dealing with Avian Influenza.

And that’s far from the only extraordinary dilemma farmers face. Corn prices may have been good this year, but it may have been a wash when the change from hot and dry to drowning in rain came a bit too late to support the hay crop. Figuring out how to fill standing supply agreements is nothing new to our food & agriculture attorneys, even though the lead times associated with all agricultural products create times of both starvation and abundance. Sometimes even when things look good, a disaster wipes out months of planning and hard work, leaving crop insurance and indemnity payments as our only strategy to provide assistance. It’s not always natural disasters – when tariffs burden exports, for example, counseling on available government assistance is challenging but can be the difference that allows a farm to carry on for another season.

How does one pay for a large financial emergency when there is no cash flow but instead wealth only in the form of decidedly illiquid land? That’s where Barley’s team of dedicated food & agriculture attorneys must get creative, helping turn dirt into money. Many times, however, turning money to dirt is just as important, and expanding existing operations onto leased or purchased land requires careful consideration and planning. Speaking of planning, the next generation is so critical to the majority of farms, and ensuring a smooth transition calls for solutions that

are exclusively tailored. When the cows come home, whose home do they go to when the farm family splits up? It is questions like that which we approach with compassion and experience. It’s not easy operating in a world that not only doesn’t understand your craft, but sometimes even finds it offensive, especially when it comes to the application of pesticides, but our food & agriculture attorneys understand how important the Right to Farm is; and when the regulatory landscape changes out of nowhere, we helped navigate the flux. The only thing constant about the agencies that govern our food system – especially USDA and FDA – is change.

Nurturing connections between farmers and food on our tables presents opportunities to enhance and protect the supply chain. Things that affect food manufacturers have a profound effect on the agricultural businesses that supply them, so every contact we make with food manufacturers, whether it be to negotiate supply contracts or settle a dispute, eventually impacts a farmer’s bottom line one way or another.

There is no “get rich quick” in the agricultural world, even in a bumper crop year. As food & agriculture attorneys, we take great care to make sure farmers understand and mitigate the risks of new ventures, like when industrial hemp first came on the scene. On the other hand, farmers are renowned for bright ideas, like a gourmet yogurt made exclusively from your family’s organic milk or a chicken so good that supermarkets fight to get it on shelves, and we are proud to counsel these committed entrepreneurs.

Farmers are now, and have always been, some of the most resilient, generous and creative members of our society. Barley Snyder’s Food & Agribusiness Industry Group recognizes the sacrifices and the contributions they make every day and thank them. Each day presents new challenges and new things to be excited about, for farmers and for the attorneys that serve them. More than anything, we are humbled to be able to serve the agricultural community.

Barley Snyder features a team of attorneys dedicated to navigating the unique challenges that the food and agribusiness sector faces. We have experience working with food, beverage and agribusiness clients from family farms to national food and beverage production firms. If you have questions regarding matters related to your food or agricultural business, please contact EmmaRose Strohl or any member of Barley Snyder’s Food & Agribusiness Industry Group.