Skip to content
Estate and Succession Planning

Dean Mead’s Estate and Succession Planning Department is one of the largest and most respected groups of estate planning attorneys in Florida. We are frequently…

Read More...
Tax

Dean Mead’s Tax Department handles tax planning issues for businesses and individuals.  The attorneys in our department have extensive experience in a full range of…

Read More...

Practice Area

Agribusiness

Dean Mead’s Agribusiness Industry Team has a long history of representing businesses, multi-generational families and individuals engaged in agribusiness operations throughout Florida.

Our Team includes attorneys from every department and office throughout the firm, so we are able to provide clients with comprehensive legal counsel that addresses all aspects of their operations, which includes agribusinesses involved in all aspects of farming such as citrus, cattle, timber, vegetables, turf, sod, ornamentals and aquaculture.

Dean Mead’s Agribusiness Team has been assisting clients in Florida to realize value from their land for 40 years. Michael Minton, Pete Dunbar and Dean Saunders talk about innovative projects and public-private partnerships that are truly making a difference by preserving state water resources for future generations.

Keeping You Up to Date

The needs of agribusiness vary widely, and change constantly. We help our clients stay economically viable by keeping you abreast of changes in the laws governing food production, 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.

As new laws and regulations continue to affect Florida agribusiness, Dean Mead keeps clients up-to-date and in compliance.  During the legislative session, there were many issues debated which had the potential to affect agribusiness.  Our Agribusiness Industry Team monitored these debates throughout the session, updating clients on important developments.

The firm’s “Florida Legislative Update” briefing series and events like the annual Lay of the Land Conference are just two examples of outreach initiatives where we share our knowledge and insight year-round.

Staying Involved for Your Interests

In Florida, water use policy is more complex and more critical than in many parts of the country. Our Agribusiness Team members were actively involved in monitoring the years-long dispute over Numeric Nutrient Standards in regulations proposed for Florida by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the federal Clean Water Act, and the federal/state compromises which ultimately developed. As new water quality standards are imposed and implemented, and as demand for water increases, and awareness of water quality and quantity issues spreads, we help Florida agribusiness understand and plan for these coming changes, and navigate an ever-more complex regulatory environment to identify opportunities.

Preparing for the Future

Dean Mead’s Agribusiness Team has worked on many projects at the forefront of Florida’s water issues throughout the state, from the Indian River Lagoon Estuary to Fisheating Creek, the Kissimmee River Basin, 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 dispersed 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.  And this industry-specific work is complemented by the work we do for agribusiness clients in the structuring, tax planning and operation of their business entities, succession planning for family businesses and many other areas of concern.

Our Agribusiness Industry Team strives to be a resource that is prepared to partner with clients to help meet whatever challenges their business brings their way.

Payment for Environmental Service and Water Farming

Our attorneys have been actively involved with water management districts and other agencies and not-for-profit organizations as they develop pilot projects and review criteria for innovative water management and environmental restoration projects on agricultural lands. Compensation to landowners under this type of arrangement is being referred to as “payment for environmental services”. In addition to “water farming” plans which simply hold water in times of high supply, we have worked with State and Federal officials and with landowners to craft projects involving water supply, water treatment and the potential of layering environmental benefits to provide a menu of environmental services for which the landowner may be compensated. This is a rapidly-evolving area of our practice, and appears to hold great promise for our firm’s clients, as public-private partnerships are developed to address water quality and water quantity issues, while giving private stewards both the means and incentives to preserve environmentally sensitive lands.

 

Dean Mead was among the founding sponsors for the Florida Agriculture Financial Management Conference (FAFMC) conference. The video recordings from the Water Panel session in 2016 have been divided into segments by each presenter and may be viewed below:

The video recording from the Legislative Update on Friday, August 26 may be viewed below:

Florida Legislative and Regulatory Update on Agriculture Related Issues – Cari L. Roth, Dean Mead

Attorneys

Real Estate

Dean Mead’s Commercial Real Estate Department has extensive experience in all aspects of real property law. We regularly represent owners, developers, investors, lenders, borrowers, landlords, tenants, and other real estate professionals in every phase of their work, including acquisitions, financing, leasing, permitting, land use and zoning, development, creation and operation of property owners associations, and…

Environmental Regulations

As the regulatory landscape continues to change, Dean Mead routinely helps clients address the often complex environmental issues affecting them.  Our attorneys have experience confronting a broad range of environmental concerns, such as regulations protecting threatened and endangered species and habitats, wetlands mitigation, water quality regulations, environmental contamination and clean up, hazardous waste transportation and…

Business Entity Formation and Operation (Partnerships, LLCs, S Corporations, and C Corporations)

We assist business owners with selecting and establishing the best legal entity to conduct a business, including partnerships, LLCs, S corporations, and C corporations. Our Tax Team also assists our clients in all aspects of tax planning related to the operation of their businesses (whether a partnership, LLC, S corporation, or C corporation). Our lawyers…

“15 Tips for a Successful Mediation” – Part I of a three-part series

Author’s Note:  We have divided the full article into a three-part series to cover five tips in each section.  From what to expect in a competitive negotiation and drafting a mediation summary, to setting bargaining points and techniques for preparing strong opening statements, this article covers practical tips that lawyers can apply immediately in their practices. I…

“2012 Legislative Update” Breakfast Briefing on June 27th at Gainesville Country Club

A Breakfast Briefing presented by Dean, Mead & Bovay’s Gainesville Office. Wed., June 27, 2012 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.Program and Breakfast  Location:Gainesville Golf & Country Club7300 S.W. 35th WayGainesville, FL  32608  Kindly RSVP:By June 25th toreply@deanmead.comor by phone: (352) 331-9092 “2012 Florida Legislative Update” Key legislation for Florida’s business and real estate community was enacted in several areas even though the 2012 Florida legislative…

“5 Key Factors in Deciding Whether to File a Business Lawsuit”

David Hathaway is the Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department and he also leads the Trust and Estate Litigation Practice Group. His article, “5 Key Factors in Deciding Whether to File a Biz Lawsuit“ was published on June 6, 2014 in the online edition of the Orlando Business Journal. A .PDF of the article may be…

“Camp Proposal on Tax Reform Contains Many Changes and Surprises” in Tampa Bay Medical News

Dean Mead shareholder and Chair of the firm’s Tax Department, Stephen Looney, authored the article “Camp Proposal on Tax Reform Contains Many Changes and Surprises,” published in the May 2014 edition of Tampa Bay Medical News. The article may be viewed via the following link: Camp Proposal on Tax Reform. This article was reproduced with permission from Tampa Bay…

“Can a Pre-Petition State Tax Lien Foreclosure Be Avoided as a Fraudulent Transfer?”

Lynn Hinson, a shareholder in Dean Mead’s litigation practice, authored the article titled, “Can a Pre-Petition State Tax Lien Foreclosure Be Avoided as a Fraudulent Transfer?” The article was published in the American Bar Association Section of Litigation Bankruptcy and Insolvency – News & Developments on June 12, 2014. His article may be viewed here: Can a Pre-Petition…

X-pattern-light-blue
When things get complex, Dean Mead is responsive and expedient regardless of the issue."
DAVID P. CARLTON, ESQ., GENERAL COUNSEL FOR BETHEL FARMS

Let's Work Together

We would love to talk with you about how we may assist you. However, please know that contacting us through this page does not establish an attorney-client relationship; no attorney-client relationship will be established until you and we agree to representation. You should not send us any confidential information through contact from this page or until requested by the attorney, and we will not treat any information you choose to provide as confidential.