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SARL Members and Alumni News

Are Landowners Liable for Horse Riding Injury to Child?

Texas Agriculture Law Blog | Posted on July 2, 2018

A recent case out of the Waco Court of Appeals, James v. Young, is the real-life version of many landowners’ nightmare.  When a six-year-old child fell off of a horse the landowners allowed him to ride, his parents filed suit.  Did the Farm Animal Liability Act apply to shield the landowners from liability? The James family and the Young family were friends.  One weekend, the two families were spending time at the Young ranch.  The mothers and two of the children rode horses while several of the men worked cattle.  When the mothers and children returned, six-year-old Bradey James said he wanted to ride the horse as well.  Bradey and another child, Daniel, got on two of the horses and rode down a gravel road.  They turned around and headed back towards other horses up the road and the horses they were riding began running.  Bradey hit his head on the saddle horn, fell off of the horse he was riding, and was injured. The James family filed suit against Justin and Paul Young for negligent handling of animals claiming that they failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent the horse from injuring Bradey and that they allowed the child, who was only six-years-old, to ride their horse and failed to determine the ability to safely manage the horse before allowing Bradey to ride. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Justin and Paul Young and dismissed the case.  The court found no genuine issue of material fact in this case to justify going to trial.  The James family appealed. The Youngs claim that the Farm Animal Liability Act relieves them from liability.  The James family concedes that the Act applies, but claims that they at least raised a genuine issue of material fact over whether the exception was applicable and their claims may go forward.


SARL Past President Rep. Larry Rhoden choosen as Lt Governor to be running mate With Congresswoman Noem

Black Hills Pioneer | Posted on June 28, 2018

Kristi Noem, Republican candidate for South Dakota governor, has chosen Larry Rhoden to serve as lieutenant governor. Rhoden is a lifelong West River rancher, a dedicated husband and father, and a proven leader with a record of service for South Dakota. “Larry, like most ranchers, is plain spoken, direct, and honest. That’s why I trust him, and why I chose him to serve as lieutenant governor,” said Noem. “Larry’s spent his life ranching. His family operation has survived droughts and floods, blizzards, and bad markets. Even though his herd survived winter storm Atlas, he was out the next morning helping his neighbors, a testament to his South Dakota character. But that’s who he is. Larry has served his church, served our state in the South Dakota National Guard, and served his constituents as a citizen legislator. I am honored he’s again chosen to serve; this time, as South Dakota’s next lieutenant governor.” “I am humbled to accept Kristi Noem’s offer to serve as her lieutenant governor,” said Rhoden. “It’s clear Kristi is fighting for something much bigger than herself, and she expects the same of those serving in her administration. We have an opportunity to do some big things without raising taxes or growing government. I’m proud to be part of the team.”


Rhode Island lawmakers hatch a plan to give caged chickens more room

AP | Posted on June 28, 2018

A Rhode Island bill about chickens that has ruffled lawmakers’ feathers in recent years is headed to the governor. The General Assembly is transmitting hundreds of bills passed late in the legislative session in batches. The bill to give caged chickens more freedom to spread their wings is on its way.


California to vote on new farm animal confinement laws

Watt Ag Net | Posted on June 28, 2018

Petitioners gain enough signatures to place law that would require all eggs. pork and beefr produced and sold in California to be from cage-free systems. Californians will vote this fall on whether to strengthen the state’s laws governing how farm animals are confined and raised.The proposed measure that qualified for the November ballot late Friday builds on a previous voter-approved initiative and a separate state law.In 2008, Californians passed Proposition 2. It required egg-laying hens, pregnant pigs and calves raised for veal to be placed in cages big enough for them to lie down, stand up, turn around freely and fully extend their limbs.Two years later, the Legislature passed a law that bans the sale in California of shelled eggs from hens raised in violation of those standards — even eggs that come from out-of-state.Both efforts, which took effect in 2015, have so far survived legal challenges, though the latest federal lawsuit is still pending.Now, animal rights advocates led by the Humane Society are back with a new initiative.It would increase the minimum space requirements in which those animals could be confined. And it would expand the ban on sales to pork, veal and liquid eggs — including products grown outside California.


Gov. Walker announces $700,000 in grants to support entrepreneurship in dairy industry

Wisconsin State Farmer | Posted on June 28, 2018

Governor Scott Walker today visited the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Great Lake Cheese to award $700,000 state grants to support and promote entrepreneurship within the state’s $43 billion dairy industry. The grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) will enable CDR to continue to provide companies with grants of up to $20,000 to support the commercialization of unique dairy technologies and products. Launched in 2013, the Tech Transfer, University, Research and Business Opportunity (TURBO) Program has helped 11 companies purchase equipment needed for new products or processes. To date, this program has helped create or retain 29 jobs in rural communities. “The TURBO program has a proven track record of success in a legacy industry that employs nearly 80,000 people statewide,” said Governor Walker. “We must continue to invest in programs like this to ensure that dairy-related businesses can continue to compete in an ever-changing environment.”


A rural city's aggressive push for more housing

Oregon Business | Posted on June 28, 2018

In rural Oregon, a lack of new and good quality housing hampers economic development in communities that are desperate for investment.   The lack of new housing means rural communities miss out on valuable property taxes that could be used to provide many of the amenities enjoyed by urban residents.   In the small eastern Oregon city of John Day, government officials have a plan to reverse this trend by offering generous financial incentives for new home construction and remodels. John Day, pop. 1,674, currently has 170 acres of underdeveloped land that has almost no tax value. Only three site-built houses have been constructed in the past decade.      To attract developers, the city is offering to pay builders system development charges of $7,400, as well as a 7% cash rebate on new home construction. Property owners that remodel their homes can get a 15% cash rebate based on the increase in the property’s assessed value.For the city to recover its investment, houses have to be located in the urban renewal area encompassing 20% of land scattered throughout the city. The area includes every buildable lot that is zoned residential and approved for development.


Waste permit revoked for controversial Oregon dairy

Capital Press | Posted on June 28, 2018

The Oregon Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Quality have revoked the waste management permit for Lost Valley Farm. The revocation comes just 15 months after the facility first received its permit from the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Quality, which jointly manage the state’s confined animal feeding operation, or CAFO, program. Lost Valley now has 60 days to shut down, move all its animals and clean all waste systems.


California to see ballot initiative for cage free pigs and chickens

The Sacramento Bee | Posted on June 28, 2018

he ballot measure builds on the passage of Proposition 2 — a 2008 initiative that prohibited California farmers from housing pregnant pigs, calves raised for veal and egg-laying hens in cages or crates that don't allow them to turn around freely. The new initiative offers greater specificity by setting explicit standards for animal confinement. By 2022, egg-laying hens would need to be placed in cage-free housing. Breeding pigs and calves raised for veal would also be required to have at least 24 and 43 square feet of floor space, respectively. The Humane Society of the United States is the primary backer of the initiative. 


Why Breed-specific Legislation Is not the Answer

AVMA | Posted on June 28, 2018

Breed-specific legislation (BSL) targets specific breeds of dogs that are wrongly thought to all be dangerous – most frequently "pit bull types" – and places stricter regulations on these dogs or even makes ownership of them illegal. Several cities, towns and states across the United States and Canada have adopted breed-specific measures in an attempt to prevent dog bites in their communities. However, while BSL may look good on the surface, it is not a reliable or effective solution for dog bite prevention. Breed-specific laws can be difficult to enforce, especially when a dog's breed can't easily be determined or if it is of mixed breed. Breed-specific legislation is discriminatory against responsible owners and their dogs. Breed bans do not address the social issue of irresponsible pet ownership. It is not possible to calculate a bite rate for a breed or to compare rates between breeds because the data reported is often unreliable. Animal control and legislative approaches to protecting a community from dangerous dogs should not be based on breed, but instead on promoting responsible pet ownership and developing methods to rapidly identify and respond to owners whose dogs present an actual risk.


Washington spreads money for clean manure projects

Capital Press | Posted on June 26, 2018

Five projects to purify manure at Washington dairies have received public funding, including one that involves engineer Peter Janicki, who told state lawmakers last year that removing all contaminants from livestock waste was possible and could even be profitable.


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