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Agricultural law research and education Center is resource for farmers and attorneys By Deborah C. Ryerson
John Becker (right), professor of agricultural economics at Penn State, talks with a Pennsylvania farmer about a legal issue. Becker is director of research for the Agricultural Law Research and Education Center at The Dickinson School of Law. Christine Kellett is director of the Agricultural Law Research Center at The Dickinson School of Law. The Agricultural Law Research and Education Center at The Dickinson School of Law was dedicated in September 1997.	Most people would not think of uttering the words “agriculture” and “law” in the same breath.   But Christine Kellett, director of the Agricultural Law Research and Education Center at The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University, is here to tell you that many legal issues have a profound effect on Pennsylvania’s number one industry.   “A farmer may call and ask if he should have liability insurance on animals if they get in the road and someone hits them,” Kellett said. “There are estate planning questions, preferential tax questions, bankruptcy issues. There are many areas of the law that have special provisions for agriculture. We serve producers, processors, educators, government officials, students and the public to make them aware of this unique interface between agriculture and the law.”   Although an elaborate network of Penn State Cooperative Extension offices has existed for many years to answer agricultural-related questions, these offices are not equipped to handle questions regarding legal issues.   “We receive law-related inquiries at the Ag Center all the time,” Kellett said. “We refer to Pennsylvania statutes and rules and regulations and often are able to answer the questions based on what is written in the law. But while we answer legal questions, we do not give legal advice, and sometimes the answer to a question is ‘You really need to see a lawyer. ’”   The Agricultural Law Research and Education Center is a collaborative effort between the Law School and Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. The center receives funding from the University and private sources, as well as from the state Department of Agriculture. One of only a few such facilities in the nation, it serves as a resource and reference center, and its staff and student assistants conduct educational programs and do research, which sometimes leads to publication of brochures and special reports.   Dr. Theodore R. Alter, associate vice president for outreach and director of Cooperative Extension and associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences, considers the Agricultural Law Research and Education Center “a critically important component of the web of research, scholarship, educational resources and technical assistance Penn State makes available to farmers and all Pennsylvanians. The primary access point for these resources is the Cooperative Extension office located in each county in the state, which puts Penn State resources within easy reach of residents. We welcome the opportunity to work closely with The Dickinson School of Law to help farmers with legal issues.”   One way the Agricultural Law Research and Education Center assists farmers is through the development of publications on legal topics.   “Often when we receive multiple inquiries about a single issue, we produce a publication that is available from us just for the cost of copying it or from our Web site,” Kellett said. The Web address is www.dsl.edu/aglaw.html. The center’s e-mail address is aglaw@psu.edu.   “Sometimes an inquiry is from an attorney,” Kellett said. “Our hope is that we can back up attorneys who don’t see agriculture-specific questions very frequently.”   Among the resources available at the center are an annotated bibliography that includes law review articles and cases pertinent to agricultural issues and a study room in the Law School library where members of the public may access agricultural links on the Internet.   More visible to the public are the many programs conducted by members of the center. Kellett and John Becker, director of research for the center, speak and serve as facilitators for continuing legal education programs, lectures and seminars. During the fall, Becker was a program facilitator for the Annual Agricultural Forum at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and taught a continuing legal education program on “Community Reaction to Changes in Agricultural Production Activities and Practices” during the Law School’s Alumni Weekend. He will conduct a workshop for high school vocational agriculture teachers next June.   Kellett spoke about “The Changing Face of Agriculture in Pennsylvania” at the Penn State Downtown Center in October. Last summer, Kellett and Becker taught a seminar on International Issues in Agriculture during the Law School’s summer overseas program for law students. Kellett said one of the biggest issues in Europe currently is the European Union’s establishment of a common agricultural policy.   The center also secures grant funding for special projects. One such grant is funding the development of a handbook for townships in Pennsylvania on Mediation of Land Use Disputes. Becker is developing the handbook with Nancy Welsh, a faculty member at The Dickinson School of Law; Charles W. Abdalla, associate professor of agricultural economics at Penn State; and Barbara L. Gray, professor of organizational behavior at Penn State. Dickinson Law School faculty member John Knox is assisting other Penn State faculty and faculty at St. Joseph’s University in developing a handbook for producers who want to sell their products overseas.   “The idea with these projects is to make them interdisciplinary and collaborative to produce usable materials for the public at large,” Kellett explained. “This is different from most academic research, most of which focuses on academic audiences... Our vision is to put together experts in many fields to solve real-world problems and to do collaborative work for problem-solving and to produce publications that are available and useful to the public.”   Kellett is a 1975 graduate of the Law School. She completed her undergraduate work at Bryn Mawr College and the University of New Mexico, receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1964. She has been a member of the Law School’s faculty since 1976. Becker, professor of agricultural economics at Penn State, is a 1972 graduate of the Law School. He received his bachelor’s degree from LaSalle University in 1969. He teaches an agricultural law seminar at the Law School. Agricultural Law Research and Education Center board of directors   A board of directors comprised of Dickinson School of Law and Penn State representatives, Pennsylvania legislators and Pennsylvania farmers and agricultural producers is providing advice and guidance to the Agricultural Law Research and Education Center.   Board members include Dr. Theodore R. Alter, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences; Hon. Raymond Bunt Jr., Pennsylvania House of Representatives; John S. Burkett, East Freedom, Pa.; Hon. Italo S. Cappabianca, Pennsylvania House of Representatives; Peter G. Glenn, The Dickinson School of Law; Hon. Samuel E. Hayes Jr., Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture;   Gary Heim, Mette, Evans & Woodside, Harrisburg, Pa.; Curtis Kratz, Moyer Packing Co., Souderton, Pa.; Sen. Roger A. Madigan, Senate of Pennsylvania; Dr. David A. Morrow, Arch Spring Farm, State College, Pa.; John Rice, Rice Packing, Gardners, Pa.; Carl T. Shaffer, Mifflinville, Pa.; Sen. William Slocum, Senate of Pennsylvania; Sen. Patrick J. Stapleton, Senate of Pennsylvania; Dr. Robert D. Steele, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences; Al Wenger, Wenger Feeds Inc., Rheems, Pa.