The Year in Reverse: A Look Back at 2014

Each year I take a look back at the big legal stories in agriculture. This year, the usual wrangling over environmental and livestock issues took a back seat to drones and “big data.” These precision ag stories were everywhere.  But there was also a big fight over future environmental regulations, and that made my list too.  So here it is, my complete list of the top 5 legal ag issues from 2014.

Big Data and Drones at the IN/IL Farm Show

I'm presenting this year again at the Indiana/Illinois Farm Show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Each year, Hoosier Ag Today hosts a series of seminars on different topics for attendees.  I'll be on stage on December 16, 2014 at 11:00 am. My presentation is called: "Data Privacy on the Farm: What You Need to Know." I'll talk about recent data privacy developments and drone news.  I'll be joined by Jim Shertzer and Jim Love from Beck's Hybrids, which recently launched its own data analytic tool: FARMserver.  More information can be found here:  IN/IL Farm Show Seminars.  I hope to see you there!

If you missed my presentation, you can find it here:  Data Privacy on the Farm: What You Need to Know.

Questions to Ask About Your Data Privacy Policy

AgGateway recently introduced its latest whitepaper on data privacy best practices for the agricultural industry. For those unfamiliar with AgGateway, it is a non-profit consortium of businesses serving the agriculture industry, with the mission “to promote, enable and expand eBusiness in agriculture.” AgGateway’s 200 members come from the crop protection, seed, grain, ag retail and other industries. AgGateway’s latest whitepaper provides not so much the “best practices” for ag technology providers, but a list of questions ag technology providers should ask when drafting their policies. These same questions are ones farmers should ask before clicking “I accept” the terms:

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) - Becoming a Part of Dr. Borlaug's Legacy

In November I was elected to serve on the Board of Representatives for the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology ("CAST").  CAST is a nonprofit organization composed of  representatives of the scientific societies, commercial companies, and nonprofit or trade organizations. CAST was established in 1972 as a result of a meeting sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. Its members today come from universities (like Purdue, Iowa State, Kansas State), food and agricultural companies (like Elanco, Dow Agrosciences, Monsanto), scientific societies, and industry trade organizations (like National Pork Board).  I am the representative for the American Bar Association's Agricultural Management Committee.