2005 Articles

2005 legislation amends Criminal Trespass and Aggravated Battery statutes By Donald L. Uchtmann November 2005 Public Act 94-512, effective January 1, 2006, amends the Criminal Trespass to Property statute, 720 ILCS 5/21-3.

Brief legislation update By Jeffrey A. Mollet November 2005 There have been a few recent legislative enactments of note.

Crop insurance: A tool for managing your farmer-clients’ risk By Donald L. Uchtmann November 2005 Professor Uchtmann's reference below to the “farmdoc” Web site (http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu) can lead you to a vast amount of information from the University of Illinois, Professor Uchtmann and his colleagues.

Estate and gift tax changes for 2006 By Mike Drone November 2005 Editor's Note - here is the annual general information update from Mike Drone, a long-time supporter and member of this Section. Always a pleasure to have members who can be counted on to help us all get the new information before we actually have to put it into practice.

Fractional interest discount of real estate-An alternative to 2032A Special Use Valuation By Mike Drone February 2005 Not all taxable estates with farmland will qualify for 2032A Special Use Valuation. Those that do qualify may not want to commit to material participation for 10 years.

Herbicide drift can be a pest(icide) By John W. Damisch January 2005 Not every summer breeze from the south brings warm fuzzy feelings among farm neighbors. Barry Kleiss and Bill Bozdech were nearby farm neighbors.

ISBA Ag Law Section Council Strategic Plan Outline April 2005 Strategic goals of the Agricultural Law Section Council

The ISBA MentorCenter Program By Jeffrey A. Mollet February 2005 One of the best programs to come along in awhile is the ISBA's Volunteer Mentor Program. As stated on the ISBA Web site (where the information below originated), this is a "program designed to connect experienced ISBA lawyers with any member attorney but especially new or young attorneys who are seeking assistance with substantive law questions or balancing the personal and professional demands of practice."

Legislative watch list March 2005 As you know, each year there are literally thousands of new bills introduced in the Illinois legislature. The 94th General Assembly is no exception.

New Grain Insurance Fund provisions may affect your clients By Jeffrey A. Mollet July 2005 Effective July 1, 2005, certain new provisions of the Illinois Grain Code went into effect which require assessment payments by various parties in or associated with the grain industry here in Illinois.

Purchasing farmland for residential development: Legal considerations January 2005 Farmland is becoming an increasingly popular means of investment, particularly among investors seeking to develop farmland for residential or commercial use.

Revisions to Chapter 12 under the new BankrCode provisions By Jeffrey A. Mollet June 2005 The recent bankruptcy bill included changes to the provisions of Chapter 12.

Risk management strategies for identity preserved grain exports By A. Bryan Endres September 2005 Emerging foreign regulations for imported grain ultimately may result in trace-back liability to U.S. farmers for the commingling of even miniscule amounts of genetically engineered DNA.

The snail-paced Doha Round agriculture negotiations By Adrian Zeno June 2005 This article is also appearing in The Globe, the newsletter of the ISBA’s International & Immigration Law Section Council. Adrian Zeno is completing his Juris Doctorate at The John Marshall Law School.

The Supreme Court plants an idea—All life formpatentable! And farmers get the short end of the stalk. Part I: The decision By Eugene F. Friedman, J.D., Ph.D. July 2005 The U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of J.E.M. Ag Supply Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., 60 USPQ2d 1865 (U.S. 2001), decided that plants constitute proper subject matter for utility patents under 35 U.S.C. § 101.

Tax-exempt financing and agriculture By Scott D. Wegner April 2005 EDITORS NOTE - Charles Farrar Browne once said “Let us all be happy and live within our means, even if we have to borrow the money to do it with.”