Ag Law Research and Education Center Established

One of the benefits to emerge from Penn State's recent affiliation with the Dickinson School of Law is the establishment of the Agricultural Law Research and Education Center, a joint undertaking of the law school and the College. Led by Christine Kellett, associate dean of the law school, and John Becker, professor of agricultural economics, the center will address the complex issues surrounding agriculture and the law. "Our College has educated people about the impacts of laws and regulations for years," says Becker. "But without the resources of a law school, we were limited in what we could muster to address any particular issue. Now we have countless additional assets to draw upon--including 500 law students, many of whom are eager to develop programs and materials to address real-world issues." The benefits of the affiliation run both ways. "In the past, the law school may have looked at legal issues without considering the sorts of impacts that people in the College have been addressing for years," Becker says. "They now have access to people with expertise in a whole range of agricultural areas."

As part of a law school, the center will offer graduate and continuing professional education programs. As part of a land-grant university, it will prepare educational materials and programs to help people understand the legal issues and problems that confront them. The center also will provide a place for government officials and agencies to obtain comprehensive analytical information on a wide range of ag-related legal issues.

"For example, there's been a lot of concern about how typical agricultural practices affect the environment," explains Becker. "How will laws and regulations affect those practices? One situation involves the potential connection between the land application of chicken manure, which runs off into streams, and the blooms of the Pfiesteria microbe in waters in Maryland and Virginia. Pfiesteria produces toxins that are harmful to fish--maybe even harmful to humans. If a case is made, we'll have a situation where a normal ag practice has an adverse health consequence. Ultimately, this could create a dramatically different situation for ag producers.

"Many other legal issues surround the relationship between farmers who raise products and the companies with which they're contracting," Becker says. "Ag economists call it vertical integration; lawyers call it production contracting--it's all part of the issue of the industrialization of agriculture, where both production and retailing are controlled by one company. We can help both parties to understand the meaning and application of the contract terms. For example, who owns the animals being raised under the contract? If one party is responsible for complying with all of the environmental laws and regulations, what obligations do they take on by accepting that responsibility? What options are available if a contract is breached by the other side? Contract terms often are dictated by bargaining position, and the party with the best bargaining position has more ability to influence the terms in favor of their own interests. If that party uses that position to its favor, does the other side understand what is being accepted when the contract is entered?"

Becker also expects the center to address issues in land-use planning. "How can communities have a healthy, viable, growing agricultural sector that doesn't conflict with nonfarm land uses?" he asks. "Some communities, for example, have opposed the expansion of concentrated animal feeding operations based on the perception that these activities pose a threat to the community. They are concerned that larger operations will increase odor and fly problems and are anxious to determine what they can do about them. Increasing the size of an operation may affect a farm's 'Right to Farm' law protection. In Pennsylvania, the size of an enterprise also may trigger the application of the state's nutrient management law. Larger operations must handle manure more carefully if they do not have adequate land on which to apply it. If the manure is not managed well, what consequences could apply to the producer if surface or groundwater is contaminated?"

Faculty and students in the center may look at creative and innovative ways to resolve farm community conflicts without litigation. "Often, alternative methods create better results for the individuals involved in a dispute," Becker says. "If feuding parties can find enough common ground on which they can agree, you have a better chance of an agreement actually being carried out. For example, can community representatives begin to understand the ag producer who wants to take advantage of an economic opportunity? Can the producer recognize the community's concerns about flies and odors and manure management, and focus on finding the most practical place to establish that facility? If a case is decided in court, one party may feel a solution was forced on them by a decision-maker who didn't understand the situation."

Another complex issue ripe for analysis is the concept of property rights. "Under the Constitution, a person's private property cannot be taken by any government entity for a public purpose without the payment of just compensation," explains Becker. "For over 200 years, this fairly simple statement has given rise to countless lawsuits over when the government is obligated to compensate a property owner. As it stands, if government regulations are so restrictive that you could make no economically viable use of your property, the government is obligated to compensate you. But what if the rule changes, lowering the level which would trigger compensation to only a 10 or 25 percent reduction in value? This needs to be examined. Research could help people understand ahead of time what life would be like if these rules change."

To marshal faculty and student interests in these directions, the center is applying for state, federal, and private grants and support to fund research, produce programs, and develop materials. To focus their efforts, a committee made up of the Secretary of Agriculture or a designee, the deans of the law school and the College, and the center's directors will meet to gather input from potential clients and review the research needs of producers, processors, and government agencies.

Besides gearing up to do research, the center is establishing a database of professional articles and extension materials. People will be able to access information directly through the center at 150 South College Street, Carlisle, PA 17013, through any Penn State Cooperative Extension office, or by a World Wide Web site, which will be constructed soon.

This spring, a new seminar course will be offered on agricultural law--the first course at the law school to focus specifically on ag law issues. Professional advisers, principally lawyers or ac-countants who advise farm producers, now can look to the center for continuing professional education.

"The real opportunity here is to find ways to take advantage of what the affiliation brings to both sides," says Becker. "We often find that issues are beyond the expertise of any one person. We need to gather people who are knowledgeable about a wide range of issues if we're going to make a meaningful contribution to the audiences we serve. To me, that's the most exciting challenge of this center."

–Kim Dionis