Missouri Agricultural Law Center  

(MALC)

 




Prepared with good intentions to serve the public, by
Stephen F.Matthews  
             

Liability Disclaimer:  The information on this web site should not be relied upon as constituting legal advice.   If you suspect you need legal  advice, contact an attorney.  Laws can change, so articles about laws can become outdated.  And legal minds, like non-legal minds(!), do not always agree on legal issues.  This information and links are provided to provide educational information.   I hope it will help you better understand legal aspects of "ag law" situations, and get timely legal advice from an attorney. (How to find an excellent attorney)

 

     

   

Search Suggestion:  After you type your key words and click on "Search," you will get a listing of "hit" results.   Then click on "Cached" for each hit in order to view the highlighted search word(s) within the document.

More Recent Additions
  1. Missouri Pet Trust Statute: Chapter 456.4-408
  2. Estate Planning for Pets
  3. Get the Law on Your Side
  4. Livingston County revises its CAFO Health Ordinance
  5. MU Extension:  FAQ's about Agricultural Law
  6. Fencing Laws of Missouri:  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
  7. Missouri Criminal Trespass Laws  (PPT) (PDF)
  8. Farm Lease Laws in Missouri (PPT)  (PDF)
  9. Legal Aspects of Farm Leases in Missouri (PPT)
  10. Farm Machinery on Missouri Highways  (PPT)  (PDF)
  11. Being Sued for Nuisance & Missouri's Right-to-Farm Statute  (PPT)  (PDF)
  12. Missouri's CAFO Statute (enacted in 1996) (PPT)  (PDF)
  13. County Health Ordinances Regulating CAFO's in Missouri  (PPT)  (PDF)
  14. Adverse Possession a/k/a "Squatter's Rights"  (PPT)  (PDF)
  15. Animal Neglect or Abuse under Missouri Statutes  (PPT)  (PDF)
  16. Air Pollution and the Federal Clean Air Act  ( PPT)  (PDF)
  17. Water Pollution and the Federal Clean Water Act  (PPT slides)
  18. Warranty Deeds & Quitclaim Deeds   (PPT slides)
  19. Dog Bites & Dog Liability under Missouri Law   (PPT slides)
  20. Easements  (PPT slides)
  21. Endangered & Threatened Species Acts (federal & Missouri)   (PPT slides)
  22. Federal Estate & Gift Tax   (PPT slides)
  23. Wildlife & Public Lands   (PPT slides)
  24. Non-Probate Transfers under Missouri Statutes   (PPT slides)
  25. Power-of-Attorney:  General or Durable?   (PPT slides)
  26. Probate in Missouri   (PPT slides)
  27. Trusts   (PPT slides)
  28. Boating in Floodwaters:  You May Be Charged With Criminal Trespass!
  29. Dailing v. Hall (Missouri, 1999):  Don't remove an existing fence without getting the neighbor's written consent (or court order), because you might end up paying for the entire replacement fence, even if the neighbor has livestock against it
  30. Private Property Rights:  Landowner loses "private" road to the public (no $$$)
  31. Sixteen Missouri counties have CAFO-restricting health ordinances
  32. Do conservation agents have the right to enter upon private land to check hunters for the proper hunting permits/licenses?
  33. Dispute over fence boundary turned deadly

MALC Publications

  1. Agricultural Law Issues Facing Missourians: Hunters & Trespassers; Terminating Verbal Farm Leases; Fencing Agreements with Neighbors; Road Easements Through Private Land; Injured Children and Landowner Civil Liability
  2. Animal Liability:  Farmers' Liability for Livestock

  3. Animal Neglect or Abuse:  Criminal Liability for Mistreating Animals
  4. Contracts in Production Agriculture:  Freedom to Contract, Public & Private Goods 
  5. Corporate Farming Statute:  What It Can and Can't Do
          *Missouri Statutes, Chapter 350:  Corporate Farming Restrictions

  6. Creditor Workouts: Bankruptcy Should Be The Last Resort

  7. Employers:  Liability of Farm Employers

  8. Fence Law Revised in Missouri  

  9. Fencing and Boundary Laws of Missouri
         *Missouri Statutes, Chapter 272: Fencing Statutes

  10. Financing:  Security Interests in Personal Property

  11. Kelo vs. New London:  What happened? State legislative responses

  12. Leases:  Legal Aspects of Verbal Farm Leases
         *Missouri Statutes, Chapter 441.050:  60-Day Written Notice To Terminate Farm Year-to-Year Lease

  13. Landowners' Liabilities (or Tenants') for Injuries to Hunters and other "Land Entrants"
  14. Litter Laws in Missouri

  15. Nuisance Torts: Ranchers' Liabilities under Missouri Law
          *Missouri Statutes, Chapter 537.295:  Right-to-Farm Protection for Ag Operation

  16. Partnerships for Farmers:  Legal Aspects

  17. Posting Land Against Trespassers:  Purple Paint Markings or Signs Will Work in Missouri

  18. Right-to-Farm Laws:  Will Missouri's Statute Withstand a Constitutional Challenge Today?

 

Reading Rooms:  Ag Law Folders

  1. Adverse Possession and Prescription  

  2. ATV Accidents and Liability Potential   

  3. Business Startup Planning  

  4. Contracting:  Agricultural Contracts 

  5. CAFO's  

  6. Cemeteries (private)  
  7. Conservation Easements  

  8. Crimes Involving Crops or Livestock  

  9. Easements  

  10. Eminent Domain (Condemnation)   

  11. Estate Planning  

  12. Fence Laws  

  13. Hunting Leases and Liability  

  14. Labor Laws & Agriculture

  15. Leases (Farm)

  16. Liability & Landowners/Tenants  

  17. Nuisances and Livestock  

  18. Organic Farming  

  19. Spray Drift  

  20. Taxes   

  21. Trespass: Posting Requirements  

  22. Water Rights & Laws  

  23. Wind Energy Farming  

 

References

  1. AgEBB:  Missouri Agricultural Electronic Bulletin Board

  2. BLOG: Agricultural Law

  3. Census of Agriculture

  4. Code of Federal Regulations

  5. CRS Reports about Agriculture and the Environment

  6. Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Locator

  7. Missouri Bar Association

  8. Missouri Bill Tracking (House & Senate)

  9. Missouri Cases

  10. Missouri Cases: Supreme Court Database

  11. Missouri Department of Agriculture

  12. Missouri Department of Conservation

  13. Missouri Department of Natural Resources

  14. Missouri General Assembly

  15. Missouri Statutes

  16. Missouri Code of State Regulations

  17. Resources Centers at the University of Missouri

  18. State Agricultural Statutes

  19. THOMAS: Library of Congress

  20. U.S. Code

  21. U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO)

  22. Xplor Missouri Extension Guidesheets

Other "Ag Law" Centers
  1. Dog Bite Law

  2. Equine Law Center

  3. Farmers' Legal Action Group, Inc.

  4. Florida Agricultural Law Center

  5. Iowa State Center for Ag Law & Taxation

  6. Michigan State Animal Law Center

  7. National Agricultural Law Center

  8. Ohio State Agricultural & Resource Law Program

  9. Penn State & Dickinson Ag Law Center

  10. Southern Environmental Law Center

  11. Texas Real Estate Center

  12. Center for Wildlife Law

Financial & Management Advice

  1. Center for Applied Rural Innovation

  2. Illinois:  FarmDoc

  3. Indiana (Purdue):  Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers

  4. Iowa:  Ag Decision Maker

  5. Kansas:  AG Manager Info Center

  6. Mid-West Plan Service (12 Midwest land-grant universities plus the USDA)

  7. Minnesota:  Center for Farm Financial Management

  8. Missouri Business Development Network

  9. Getting Through Tough Financial Times (Illinois) 

 

 

 

 

 

Articles or Links I Thought You Might Find Interesting

  1. Yes, PETS can be taken care of in a trust
    • A “pet trust” refers to an arrangement whereby the caretaker’s right to receive any caretaking funds is limited.
    • Statutory Pet Trust:  In a growing number of states (43?), special statutes have been enacted to impose an enforceable “pet trust” by allowing virtually any third party designated by the terms of the trust or a court to compel the caretaker-trustee to use the caretaking funds solely for the benefit of your pet.
    • Traditional Legal Trust:  In any state, you can always establish a traditional trust for the care of a pet that is carefully-drafted to avoid the legal pitfalls.  The trick is to transfer the pet itself and the caretaking funds into the trust, as trust property, name the caretaker who takes care of the pet as a beneficiary of the trust, and designate the party who will watch over the caretaker and the caretaking funds as the trustee of the trust.
  2. FAQ's about Pet Trusts
  3. Feral Pigs Rapid Spread in Missouri Hogties MDC
  4. DNR not deterred by judge's "Arrow Rock Ruling" in approving 4 CAFOs near state parks
  5. EPA Enforcement Cases Against CAFOs, 2002 to Present
  6. ATV accidents and the debate over industry regulation
    • In the U.S., there are nearly 150,000 ATV accidents involving injuries yearly.
    • ATV's are a $3.5 billion industry in the U.S.
    • sales of Chinese ATVs could reach 500,000 yearly and account for half of ATV sales in the United States, according to industry watchers. Five years ago, just 30,000 or so of the Chinese vehicles reached U.S. shores.
    • ATVs are generally legal for off-road use without licensing requirements; Illinois is among states with few restrictions on ATV use.
      • In Missouri, no one under 16 can operate an ATV without a helmet and must be accompanied by a parent or riding on a parent's land.
    • ATV safety is of special concern in rural areas, home to many of America's 16 million ATV riders. For that reason, 4-H clubs have joined consumer groups in pressing Congress to get involved
    • The Consumer Federation of America and the American Academy of Pediatrics have pushed for prohibiting children under 12 from using any ATV with an engine bigger than 90cc.
    • the origin of machines is not among the statistics kept in a Consumer Products Safety Commission database of 8,104 ATV deaths in America through 2006, obtained by the Post-Dispatch under the Freedom of Information Act.
    • The key point here is that for the first time in our history, data shows that there are upwards of 850 deaths yearly for ATVs. It is essential that parents know that it is not just new (Chinese) ATVs but the old ATVs as well that are involved in tragic accidents. Every day.
  7. Lake Ozark sewage spill leads to guilty plea (August 1, 2008)
    • A former public works director in Lake Ozark has pleaded guilty in federal court to failing to report the discharge of raw sewage into the Lake of the Ozarks to the state Department of Natural Resources
    • The case, prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Lawrence Miller and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Rausch, stems from a tip left at an Environmental Protection Agency Web site where residents can anonymously report environmental law violations
    • The Web site -www.epa.gov/compliance/ complaints/ - has been running since January 2006, but yesterday’s conviction was the first guilty plea to stem directly from a complaint.
    • Since the site’s inception, 16,789 complaints have been filed, and about 1,300 of those have been referred to the EPA’s criminal investigations division.  Of those, 19 have led to open criminal investigations, and two cases, including the Lake Ozark case, have led to formal charges.
    • The crime was failing to report a raw sewage discharge in September, a violation of the city’s permit and the Clean Water Act. The discharge sent 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of raw sewage into the lake, causing a dark plume and dangerously raising the levels of fecal coliform and ammonia nitrogen in the water.  The maximum penalties for Sturgeon could be a fine of as much as $250,000 and as many as three years in federal prison without parole.
  8. Missouri's DNR offers new CAFO rules for public comments (July 23, 2008)
  9. Monsanto sues Pilot Grove area farmers for "patent infringement" of Roundup-Ready soybeans (July 10, 2008)
  10. Monkey owner charged with two counts of harboring dangerous or aggressive animals, under a Columbia city ordinance (July 15, 2008)
  11. Congress proposes to change the Clean Water Act:  Drop "navigable" before "waters of the U.S."
  12. Legal Liability Issues for Handling Manure
  13. What if natural gas or oil were under your land?  Pros & cons of leasing mineral rights
  14. Getting "Title" by Adverse Possession, or an "Easement" by Prescription
  15. Five Common "Defenses" of Landowners Against Claims By Trespassers Under Adverse Possession
  16. How Many Years Is Required To Acquire Land Under Adverse Possession?  (varies by state)
  17. Cattle Rustling in Missouri Still A Problem
  18. U.S. Hog Farms Grew Larger the Last 20 years or so
  19. Top 100 Hog Counties in the U.S. (1992-1997 changes)  (Sullivan County #6; Gentry County #98)
  20. Which countries produce more swine (hogs) than does the U.S.?   (China, 5 times U.S. production)
  21. Animal Neglect or Abuse?  St. Louis-area man accused of bludgeoning his dog with a sledgehammer and baseball bat.
  22. Animal Cruelty:  A man allegedly threw a kitten out his car window while driving down Interstate 275, and he was charged with one felony count of animal cruelty. This was a wanton and willful disregard of life

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Copyright:  Stephen F. Matthews.   All rights reserved.  (l996)         
http://aglaw.missouri.edu/
  

Count since December 2007

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Disclaimer
The information contained in this website location is intended to be for general information only and should not be relied on when making decisions without obtaining competent legal counsel from an attorney.   Laws vary from state to state and no representations are made to the accuracy of information.