Agribusiness and Agricultural Law

Fairfield county Lancaster Ohio Agriculture and Agribusiness law photo

Dagger Law takes pride in developing a tailor-made cost-conscious approach to assist farmers, ranchers, agribusiness owners, and rural landowners with all aspects of the law that impact Ohio’s agriculture industry.

Since our firm’s founding back in 1902, nearly all of the partners and attorneys at Dagger Law grew up around small towns in Central Ohio. Having been raised on county fairs, farm-fresh produce, and an appreciation for agriculture-based economies, our attorneys understand the importance of our farming, ranching, agribusiness, and landowner neighbors. We recognize that farms and farmers are the lifeblood of our community and that farm trade, and business faces unique legal issues across various state laws, national law, and local ag law areas.

At its core, communities in Central Ohio grew up around farming and agriculture. Here, and across the state of Ohio, our farms drive our economy. They directly influence our health & nutrition. Farms and agribusinesses are even on the cutting edge of our environmental conservation initiatives. Our Agricultural Law attorneys continuously provide our clients with updates to Ag law taxes and other farm law issues that impact Fairfield County farmers, agribusiness owners, and landowners.

Our agribusiness attorneys know that the laws affecting the agriculture industry are continually shifting. Those laws impact how a farm establishes itself as a legal business entity and determine environmental and conservation-minded use of agricultural land. They may involve tax issues affecting individuals and businesses or parents planning to pass a legacy to their children. No matter how they impact the farming community, you can rest easy knowing that Dagger Law Agricultural Attorneys protect our clients’ interests.

Agricultural Law consists of:

(Please note that some list items may be linked to other pages to help further define a subject or answer frequently asked questions)

If you don’t see your particular issue listed above, that is no problem! We enjoy a challenge and are happy to assist you with the legal issue that you are facing. To schedule an appointment to discuss your legal matter, use our convenient Contact Page.

Our agricultural law attorneys can advise on matters of personal and business liability.

Liability comes from activities that you, or your employees, take. Some examples of activities that could create liability are environmental issues caused by manure or fertilizer runoff, spray drift, and farm equipment accidents. Liability can also come from the things you didn’t do that a “reasonable person” would have done. Examples of this are harder to define, but a typical example might be failing to hang a sign warning about an electric fence.

These negligence items are often the things you would do if you had more time in a day, like; Patch the cracked sidewalk that your “you pick” guests keep tripping on, or remind your employees to stay away from an electric service cabinet. The good news is that a claimant must prove negligence in a court of law, and this is where having an experienced Agricultural Law Attorney can make all the difference.

Do you have an effective estate and business plan in place to protect your assets for the next generation?

If you have already taken steps to review your estate and long-term business succession documents, we applaud your foresight and diligent planning. If it has been a while since you looked over these crucial documents, then maybe it is time to look again. Estates and trusts require preventative maintenance like a tractor, and a routine tune-up may be in order. Please consider the following questions as a quick checklist to run through to determine whether a review would be in order.

Have you ensured that all assets in the original estate plan were re-titled?

Once established, people often fail to take the necessary steps to put the plan in action. Changing a title to reflect the plan is one step that always seems to get kicked down the road. That can cause a well-laid plan to run into troubles down the road. Dagger law can assist with ensuring your titles match the estate plan drafted for you by your attorney.

Have there been any changes in assets?

Did you acquire any new land? Have you sold or purchased any valuable farm equipment? Have new structures been built on your property? These may need to be added to the estate plan to avoid confusion.

Are there family members who need to be added to, or removed from, the estate plan?

Is your business succession in order? We know that life can change on a dime, and sometimes those events that change our future planning are the ones that distract us most from updating legal documents. Whether you are celebrating a new birth or mourning a loss, these are times to take another look at your planning.

We know you are busy with your livelihood and life’s work. Let us ease the burden by providing a periodic evaluation and altering the estate planning documents to focus on today, knowing that we will help protect your tomorrow.

Will an agricultural law attorney travel to me, or do I need to come to your offices in either Lancaster or Canal Winchester?

While some meetings will need to occur in our offices, we try to minimize your travel time. We offer two convenient office locations in Lancaster and Canal Winchester, Ohio. Our goal is to reduce the disruption to your life caused by legal issues and conduct most communications or meetings through emails or phone calls. In certain circumstances, we realize that clients can’t reach us, and we may be required to visit your location.

Suppose you retain a Dagger Law attorney to represent you. In that case, they will travel to the necessary court hearings and legal procedures to represent you anywhere in Ohio! Please note that in some instances, the cost to represent your case may require an unusual amount of money due to travel expenses. In such cases, we may recommend using legal representation closer to the location of your case. We are happy to provide referrals in these instances if we are able.

We proudly serve the following communities throughout Central and Southeastern Ohio:

  • Fairfield County
  • Franklin County
  • Hocking County
  • Licking County
  • Pickaway County
  • Baltimore, Ohio
  • Buckeye Lake
  • Canal Winchester
  • Circleville
  • Greater Columbus Area
  • Lancaster, Ohio
  • Logan
  • Newark, Ohio
  • other locations nearby

Check out the nearest location to you by clicking Our Locations Page

Contact one of these Dagger Law attorneys for assistance.