Agribusiness

About the Agribusiness Team

Dean Mead’s Agribusiness Team has a long history of representing businesses and individuals engaged in agribusiness operations throughout the State of Florida. Our Team includes attorneys from every department and office throughout the firm so we are able to provide our clients with comprehensive legal counsel that addresses every aspect of their operations.

We actively represent agribusiness clients involved in citrus, cattle, timber, vegetables, turf, sod ornamentals and aquaculture.

The needs of agribusiness vary widely, and change constantly. To stay economically viable, agribusiness must stay abreast of changes in the laws governing food production, the environment, taxation, transportation, the environment and land development. Dean Mead’s Agribusiness Team is made up of attorneys from each of the firm’s different practice areas for exactly this reason.

Of course, agriculture requires water. But in Florida, water has always been a more complex issue than in other parts of the country. Currently, Agribusiness Team members are monitoring the development of new “numeric” standards for water quality in Florida, and talking with other professionals and government staff to understand how they will be implemented. These new standards, new rules for water and environmental permitting, and efforts to protect and restore the Everglades will all impact every Florida resident in some way or another.

The recent battles over the implementation of these numeric standards is a bellwether of things to come in Florida. Water has always been an issue at the forefront of agriculture; you either have too much or too little; rarely is it “just right.” Both water quantity and water quality issues are destined to become even more critical in the near future throughout Florida as new standards are imposed, and as demand for water again begins to rise. Florida agribusiness will need to understand and plan for these coming changes, and navigate an ever-more complex regulatory environment.

The Agribusiness Team has worked on many projects at the forefront of Florida’s water issues, from the Indian River Lagoon Estuary to Fisheating Creek, the Myakka River, the St. Johns River and other watersheds. From negotiating federal and state conservation, landscape and other easements over agricultural land, to helping develop plans for disbursed water storage and innovative “water farming” solutions, our team is helping to develop the answers Florida’s agriculture will need in the very near future, and helping our clients understand and prepare for that future.

Additional Information on Agribusiness:

Industries

Additional Information on Agribusiness

Dean Mead was a sponsor of the Florida Agricultural Financial Management Conference in September 2012. Lauren Detzel, Chair of Dean Mead's Estate & Succession Planning department, and Steve Akers, Managing Director of Bessemer Trust, both gave an excellent presentation titled, Estate and Business Succession Planning for Farmers and Business Owners with an emphasis on family farms throughout the U.S. A copy of their presentation is provided here: "Estate and Business Succession Planning for Farmers and Business Owners (O0756154).

The conference was designed to help attendees weather the challenges of our economy. Armed with practical and productive financial tools, attendees gained key strategies to achieve business success. The Conference is open to all members of Florida agricultural commodities. Today's industry members who are financially strong will become a driving force in returning Florida’s economy to brighter days.