Editor's Note: Donors who wish to support the center can designate their gifts to the Dolezal Professorship (account 2701059) or the Excellence in Agricultural Law Endowment (account 2701103) in the "other designation" section on the first page of the on-line gift form.


Roger McEowen

AMES, Iowa -- A new Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation has been established at Iowa State University.

The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the new center at its Nov. 8 meeting in Ames.

“The center addresses a growing need in today’s agriculture for expertise to inform decisions that are increasingly shaped by legal and tax issues,” said Roger McEowen, the Leonard Dolezal Professor in Agricultural Law and an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies.

“There also continues to be a strong need for agricultural law educational and outreach programs to support Iowa’s agricultural economy,” said McEowen, who will serve as the center’s director.

The center will focus on topics that include agricultural taxation, commercial transactions, tort law, property law, farm estate and business planning, bankruptcy, environmental and natural resource law, and regulatory law and policy. The center will be self-supporting through revenue generated by seminars and materials, as well as by fund-raising.

“The center will have a strong extension focus, providing timely, objective information to agricultural producers, landowners, businesses and professionals on important developments in agricultural law and taxation,” said McEowen.