Foreign land ownership expo topic
National Agricultural Law Center Director Harrison Pittman and Staff Attorney Micah Brown will discuss foreign ownership of U.S. land on Jan. 9.
The panel discussion is part of the Land Investment Expo on Jan. 9 in Des Moines, Iowa, according to a news release.
Pittman and Brown will be joined by David Bergvall, director of policy and environment for Manulife Investment Management Timberland and Agriculture and Todd Friedman, co-chair of Stoel Rives Agribusiness, Food, Beverage and Timber Industry Group. Registration for the event is online, with in-person and livestream options available.
Brown is a leading national expert on foreign ownership of agricultural land. He has created resources on the topic, including the Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land: FAQs and Resource Library.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Pittman and Brown frequently present on the topic of foreign ownership at events throughout the country, from agricultural conferences and farm bureau meetings to national hearings. In September, Pittman testified on the topic during a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry. Brown also testified in September before the Mississippi Department of Agriculture & Commerce Study Committee on Acquisition of Farmland.
“While the conversation regarding foreign ownership of U.S. land has grown over the last decade, it has grown immensely in 2023,” Pittman said. “It’s one of the most active issues at both the state and federal levels, if not the most. That trend looks to continue into 2024.”
In 2023, more than half of the states in the country took some form of action regarding foreign ownership. In October, Arkansas became the first state in the country to enforce a state foreign ownership law. The first legal challenge to a state foreign ownership law was Shen v. Simpson in Florida, in which the judge ultimately decided that Florida may continue enacting its foreign ownership law.
The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural Library. Details: nationalaglawcenter.org or follow the center on social media.
Agri workshops to focus on risk management
Economists from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will be bolstering their outreach to farmers with four risk-management workshops scheduled in January and February.
The four Fryar Center Agricultural Risk Management, or FARM, workshops are longer format, allowing for more in-depth looks at situations and tactics, according to a news release.
Registration is open online. The cost for each event is $20. Registration within seven days of the workshop is an additional $20.
The agendas will cover both livestock and row crop production depending on location.
“The farm workshops really give us an opportunity to get more in depth in really important topics,” said John Anderson, head of the agricultural economics and agribusiness department for the Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.
“In our one-off smaller production meetings, we can get into the current situation and outlook and give a sense of where the markets are, but it’s harder to get in-depth with topics such as risk management strategies, assessment of financial statements and evaluating crop insurance products. The workshop format just allows us to put a lot more meat in the program than we otherwise could,” Anderson said.
The four workshops will be:
Jan. 10 — 10 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. — JONESBORO — Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, 3414 One Place.
Jan. 11 –10 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. — STUTTGART — Rice Research and Extension Center, 2100 Arkansas Highway 130. The agenda is available at https://www.uaex.uada.edu/media-resources/news/2023/december/2024-1-10-FARM-Stuttgart.pdf.
Feb. 1 — 8:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. — NEWPORT — Corn and Grain Sorghum Producers Building at the Jackson County Extension Center, 649 Jackson Road 917.
Feb. 2 — 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. — SEARCY — White County Extension Office, 24 — Landing Road.
The Fryar Price Risk Management Center of Excellence in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas was established in 2020 with a gift from Ed and Michelle Fryar. The center’s work focuses on critical risk management issues facing the food and fiber system, with particular emphasis on products and industries contributing significantly to the Arkansas economy.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact a local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.