2003 Articles

Comments from the editor September 2003 As we all know, "agricultural law" is an amalgamation of other areas of the law, ranging from real estate to environmental law and estate planning to corporations.

The Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) revised rule* By Michael R. Berman May 2003 On December 16, 2002, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) announced a final rule that will require all large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to obtain permits that will ensure they protect America's waters from wastewater and manure.

Counseling farmers about saving Roundup Ready® beans for seed By Donald L. Uchtmann March 2003 Can farmers save Roundup Ready® beans for seed without being liable for patent infringement or breach of contract?

Dueling Surveyors: Post-appellate issues of Hasselbring v. Lizzio By Richard F. Bales November 2003 I have always been interested in water law and the various issues surrounding riparian rights.

FDIC insurance coverage for estates and revocable trusts By Mike Drone January 2003 Just as grain elevators can fail, so can banks. If you represent the executor of an estate or the trustee of a revocable trust, it is important to understand how FDIC insurance applies to estate or trust bank deposits

The highway commissioner By John W. Foltz September 2003 The following is condensed from materials presented by John W. Foltz at the ISBA's Agricultural Law Seminar sponsored by the Agricultural Law Section Counsel.

The Illinois Grain Code Amendments: Counseling farmers, lenders, or grain dealers and warehouses By Donald L. Uchtmann November 2003 Public Act 93-0225, effective July 21, 2003, makes significant changes in the Illinois Grain Code, including how the Illinois Grain Insurance Fund (IGIF) is funded and which producer claims are entitled to payment. The IGIF is analogous to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Landlord’s lien upon crops: Back to the future—UCC1 filing requirement abandoned effective August 21, 2002 By Donald L. Uchtmann, James R. Grebe, & D. K. Banner January 2003 Public Act 92-0819, effective August 21, 2002, eliminates the requirement to file a UCC1 with the Secretary of State to give the Landlord's Lien priority over agricultural liens and perfected security interests.

Novel settlement: A new trend? By Raymond T. Reott March 2003 In an election year, the historic practice in Illinois was for environmental enforcement to increase and for penalty demands in negotiated settlements to rise proportionately.

Persons owing non-tax debt to federal government are ineligible for most federal financial assistance By David Hoff November 2003 The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), 31 U.S.C. § 3720B, bars a person owing a delinquent nontax debt to the federal government from receiving many forms of federal financial assistance, including direct loans (other than disaster loans) or loan insurance or guarantees from the United States Department of Agriculture.

Property valuation may be reduced by proximity to livestock operation* By J. David Aiken March 2003 In Nebraska, land and buildings are valued at their fair market value for purposes of property taxation. Residential and commercial real estate is valued at 92-100 percent of actual value (i.e., farm market value) and agricultural real estate is valued at 74-80 percent of actual value.

Self-employment tax on cooperative payments to farmers—The legal journey continues By Jeffrey A. Mollet January 2003 There are currently pending in the federal Tax Court system a number of cases involving the applicability of the self-employment tax to value-added payments received by retired farmers from new generation, closed cooperatives

Tenancy by the entirety now offers less protection from creditors By Laura Althardt May 2003 For more than 50 years, every federal court reviewing tenancies by the entireties has concluded that a federal tax lien cannot attach to such property to satisfy an individual spouse's tax liability.

The valuation and assessment of farmland property By Jeffrey A. Mollet September 2003 As rural areas continue to develop, farmland values seem to edge steadily upwards, perhaps in recognition of the fact that fewer acres are available for production or because increases in the value of land for non-agricultural uses are pulling the entire market forward.

Whose pond is it anyway? By Jeffrey A. Mollet May 2003 The Illinois Appeals Court for the Third District recently rendered an opinion on the often-discussed but sometimes little-understood issue of riparian rights.

Zoning and land use: A case study in urban sprawl By Paul J. Evans March 2003 The following is an excerpt from materials presented by the author at the ISBA's Agricultural Law Section's "Law of the Prairie" seminar that was held in April, 2002.