Farmer, Lawyer, Policymaker: Drake Law Student Will Wear Many Hats Upon Graduation
by Erica Winter
Drake Law is the only law school in the country to offer a certificate in agricultural law for J.D. graduates (University of Arkansas Law School offers a specialized LL.M. in Agricultural Law). Plus, Drake's Agricultural Law Center offers a wide variety of programs and opportunities for students, scholars, farmers, and policymakers to explore the intersections among agriculture, food, and all areas of law.
Bill Even is not a typical law student. He is older than many of his classmates and is adding a law degree to an established career. This, in itself, is not that unusual. The more unusual facts are that Even's established career is farming and his first professional step out of law school will be to return to his home state of South Dakota to head up a new state agency.
All of this started when Even was farming with his father in South Dakota, and they brought his younger brother into the operation. The farm still produces corn, soybeans, and alfalfa hay. There is a cow-and-calf operation and a farm-equipment-repair business that they started when Even's brother came on board. As the business was expanding, the family considered either renting out more land to cultivate or investing in more farm equipment.
Rather than do that, Even says, it was decided that he "would invest in myself," and he went to college. There, his interest in law was sparked, says Even, "and that led to law school." He was drawn to Drake Law because of its agricultural law program.
Even will be one of six law students to receive the certificate of specialization in agricultural law from Drake Law this spring. Drake's agricultural law certificate requires students to take a set of core courses, such as Introduction to Agricultural Law and Environmental Regulation of Agriculture, and then choose elective courses that cover their specific areas of interest.
The center's Director, Professor Neil Hamilton, takes a policy approach to agricultural issues and applies the basics of core legal subjects to agriculture, says Even. Hamilton's—and the program's—strength is looking at "the intersection of law and policy," says Even, which is also where Even's interests lie.
In a course on state and local government regulation of agriculture, for example, Hamilton and his students explored the "right to farm" concept, says Even. If a farm's owners want to expand from having 400 cattle to 1,200 cattle and they want to put in a new feed lot to accommodate the expansion, then there will be a high impact on the farm's neighbors, as well as on the local environment.
Controlling expansion, while still letting farmers grow, is a major "right to farm" issue. It could be dealt with on the state level in the legislature, on the county level in the issuance of permits, or it could be left to the courts. There is "a lot of litigation over these types of issues in Midwestern states," says Even.
Other big issues in agricultural law currently include the industrialization of agriculture, which pits smaller operations against mega-farms, with "arguments on both sides" for the benefits of each, says Even. Like the national Wal-Mart debate, there is a lot of litigation on this topic. Some large farms are getting larger, but there has also been a growing trend in "lifestyle farms," with farmers working for enjoyment, not as a source of primary income.
Traditional framing practices are also clashing with intellectual property concepts as genetically modified plants are becoming more common. The kicker is that plants, unlike most patentable inventions, can reproduce themselves, and farmers traditionally save seed from crops and replant it or sell it. This is where things get "sticky," says Even, because the law says that the farmer does not really own that seed.
Then there are agricultural issues with food and trade, which are huge components of international business and health concerns alike. Fewer than two percent of Americans are farmers, notes Even, but we all eat. Food is everyone's connection to farming, and safety and labeling are both domestic and international issues.
International trade law contains a vast universe of agricultural legal issues, from the framer to the consumer. Food safety is a major area of trade contention between the United States and the European Union, Japan, and Canada, especially when it comes to beef.
For the farmer, Even points to himself as an example: he watches the weather in Brazil as much as he watches the weather in South Dakota because South American crop production impacts the market for his crops. "Agriculture has truly become globalized," he says.
As for his first job out of law school, Even will stay local and return to South Dakota as the new Director of State Energy Policy. In that part of the country, farms and farmers are tightly linked to energy production, says Even, with production of ethanol (made from corn) and biodiesel and using farmlands for wind farms.
Even went to talk with South Dakota's state secretary of agriculture in the summer after his second year to find out what opportunities were available in state government. Eventually, a staffer from the governor's office called Even, saying that the state needed to address its energy-producing potential—but had no department as yet—and asking if he would be interested. Seeing a unique opportunity, Even took the job.
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