In today’s fast-evolving landscape, the agribusiness industry faces market volatility, supply chain disruptions, and the imperative for climate resilience. Yet, opportunities abound to meet the rising global demand for food, fuel, and fiber by leveraging innovative technologies and adapting to sustainable practices. Arnold & Porter provides comprehensive support throughout the agribusiness lifecycle, delivering actionable, business-focused guidance that connects production and distribution with critical elements such as finance, regulation, and sustainability. Our multidisciplinary approach provides strategic solutions that empower agricultural landowners, operators, and related business looking to unlock growth, overcome challenges, and ensure sustainable practices.
Farmland is a regulated, data-driven institutional asset and a key part of the global real-asset ecosystem. Our cross-practice team combines a deep understanding of the industry with decades of legal experience to help clients navigate this complex marketplace, maintain a competitive advantage, and achieve success.
We represent a diverse clientele that includes direct operators and investors across the agribusiness industry. Clients include manufacturing companies involved in crop research and development, as well as manufacturers and suppliers of pesticides, fertilizer, biologicals, and seed. Our investor clients include asset managers, family offices, foundations, investment management firms, pension funds, private investors, and REITs.
- Bankruptcy & Restructuring: Our attorneys have decades of experience in corporate restructurings, bankruptcies, and related litigation, which includes representing clients in the agricultural sector in disputes under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). We work with a range of stakeholders, including lenders, asset managers, bondholders, hedge funds, financially distressed companies, boards of directors, and special committees.
- Corporate & Finance: We advise agribusiness clients of all sizes with the structuring, financing, and execution of domestic and international transactions. Our services encompass agribusiness-related M&A investments, divestitures, joint ventures, strategic alliances, recapitalizations, leasing, and both public and private debt and equity financing.
- Environmental & Natural Resources: We advise companies on federal, state, and local regulations impacting farming and the agribusiness sector, including the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and pesticide regulations. Our team helps navigate climate change policies, decarbonization, and energy transitions, as well as assisting clients with carbon and renewable projects. We also litigate a variety of environmental disputes, including data compensation for EPA-regulated products.
- Intellectual Property: Our patent lawyers who hold advanced degrees in biogenetics, chemistry, and biology are experienced in animal and plant breeding and engineering. They handle patent infringement cases and patent prosecutions related to animals, plants, and seed technology, as well as licensing arrangements between IP holders and agribusiness operators.
- Labor & Employment: We advise on workforce challenges unique to the agribusiness sector, including labor contractor agreements, housing for migrant laborers, and heat restrictions and other safety issues. Additionally, we ensure compliance with labor laws (including those around farmworker safety) and conduct due diligence for acquisitions involving active operations. Our litigators also defend employers in collective bargaining disputes and employment litigation.
- Real Estate: We assist clients with the acquisition, disposition, leasing, financing, development, and operation of farmland, timber, and other agribusiness ventures, including packing houses, cold storage facilities, processing plants, and controlled environment agriculture facilities, such as hydroponic farms and high-tech greenhouses. Additionally, we provide guidance in complying with the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) and similar state-analogous laws, including statutes that require submissions to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- Regulatory: Our firm maintains long-standing relationships with government agencies overseeing this sector, including the USDA, EPA, FDA and OSHA. We have deep experience on the regulation of agricultural inputs, including pesticides, fertilizers, seeds and other chemical and biological products, as well as the growing, processing, manufacturing, and distribution of agricultural products, whether for food, fiber or fuel. Our work extends to the unique commercial contracts utilized by participants at all stages of agriculture.
- Tax: We advise on taxation issues relevant to the agricultural sector, including federal and state tax requirements, estate and gift tax planning for family farms, tax implications of farm operations and transactions, and incentives related to agricultural production.
Key Contacts
Related Services
