Agribusiness

Experienced Agribusiness Attorneys

Agribusiness is a major industry in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Services estimates that, in 2020, agriculture, food and related industries contributed more than $1 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product. Agribusiness is at the heart of a wide array of industries, notably animal agriculture (dairy, beef, chicken, etc.), food producers, co-ops, manufacturers and supply chain providers. New York State ranks among the largest producers of agricultural crops and products.

Phillips Lytle’s Agribusiness attorneys are among some of the country’s leading practitioners in this industry. Phillips Lytle is experienced and well-positioned to counsel its clients on the entire agribusiness value chain as well as defend them in class action lawsuits, commercial litigation and enforcement of regulatory law. Six of our office locations are in the State of New York, and we have extensive expertise in legal matters related to New York agribusiness law. Given our decades of representing producers of agricultural products, from large operations to small, we know they want answers from their counsel not traditional length legal memos. We deliver answers, strategies and solutions.

Our multidimensional Agribusiness Team creatively helps our clients solve the complicated, diverse and ever-changing issues that arise in the arena of agribusiness law, including in the food safety, real estate, environmental, energy, immigration, labor, animal welfare, tax and transactional areas. From family farms to crop consultants to recovered natural gas pipeline developers, these are just a few of the areas in which we offer our clients legal expertise in the agribusiness arena:

• Federal Milk Marketing Orders
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act
• The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), formerly the North American Free Trade Agreement, particularly in the area of expanded market access for dairy and poultry producers
• Farm Workforce Retention Credits
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) water regulations, including water withdrawal and permitting regulations, and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) permitting operations
• H2-A visa rules governing the temporary employment of foreign agricultural workers
• Organic livestock standards under the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service
• New York’s Methane Reduction Plan
• Processing, manufacturing and retail sale of cannabis and hemp
• Transportation of agricultural commodities under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act
• Farm tax planning
• Farm acquisition and sale
• Land disputes
• Real property tax assessments
• Farm equipment financing for purchase or lease
• Intellectual property protection for equipment, food and beverage
• Producer co-op issues