Agribusiness
Faced with a unique cross-section of legal needs, agribusinesses call on Tonkon Torp to help them navigate a wide variety of matters. We represent farms, ranches, wineries and agricultural business associations in matters like real estate, permitting, logistics and distribution. Clients particularly benefit from our deep experience in land use, environmental law and government relations issues.
We also provide comprehensive counsel across all areas of the law to help these essential industries grow and succeed, including:
We also provide comprehensive counsel across all areas of the law to help these essential industries grow and succeed, including:
- Environmental, waste water, air permitting, clean-up and easement work
- Water rights due diligence
- Agricultural property acquisition and financing
- Business administration and regulatory compliance
- Labor and employment matters
- Corporate finance, including mergers, acquisitions and public offerings
Tonkon Torp Wins Dismissal of RICO Claims Attacking Cannabis Industry – First of its Kind in 9th Circuit
Tonkon Torp secured a dismissal of civil RICO claims filed in federal court based on defendants' involvement in an Oregon Medical Marijuana Program grow operation. Four civil RICO cases have been filed this year in Oregon against nearly 300 businesses and individuals engaged in state-authorized cannabis activity.
Tonkon Torp Harvests Victory for Oregon Radish Seed Farmers
Tonkon Torp represented 45 Northwest farmers in a dispute with an East Coast commercial bank over who should receive the proceeds from the sale of the farmers’ radish seed crop. Find details and more featured cases here.
Tonkon Torp and Law Firm Alliance Partner Facilitate Key Technology Merger
Tonkon Torp represented Key Technology in its acquisition of Belgium-based Visys N.V. The deal, valued at approximately $21 million, created a single source of high-performance sorting technologies for food processing and other industrial markets. Find details and more featured cases here.
Acquisition of Organic Herb Farm
Herb Pharm is a grower and producer of organic herbs. The company purchased its original farm, still in operation, from the founders of the company.
Natural Resource Acquisition for Commercial Aquaculture Business
Represented an association of commercial aquaculture businesses in obtaining a reversal of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's proposed denial of Section 401 water quality certification to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Nationwide Permit 48 for commercial shellfish operations, and in avoiding the need to obtain dredge and fill permits for standard commercial shellfish operations.
10.2.2020
Oregon Eviction Ban Extended for Residential But Not Commercial Tenants
On September 28, Governor Kate Brown issued Executive Order 20-56. Citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the recent state wildfires, the Order extends the existing ban on eviction of residential tenants for non-payment of rent until December 31…
4.23.2020
Trump Proclamation Suspends Entry of Immigrant Visa Applicants Into U.S. for 60 Days
On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation temporarily suspending entry into the United States of certain foreign nationals outside the United States seeking immigrant visas. The Proclamation has several exceptions, and…
4.22.2020
Hemp and the Pitfalls of the USDA’s Interim Final Rule
Despite regulatory uncertainty and increased competition, we continue to see explosive growth in the amount of hemp production in the United States, with the amount of total acreage increasing by approximately 550% since the passage of the 2018 Farm…
4.17.2020
Top 6 Ways To Protect a Cannabis Business Brand
As I previously discussed in my article and podcast published in the Portland Business Journal, U.S. federal trademark law does not currently extend to cannabis products. Because the required “use in commerce” of the cannabis plant and related…
9.12.2019
What You Need to Know About Buying and Selling Products Containing Cannabidiol (CBD)
It seems as though products containing cannabidiol (CBD) are everywhere – in supermarkets, health food stores, gyms, even the corner convenience store. And CBD can come in almost every product, regardless of the shape or size: oil, toothpicks, dog…
9.6.2019
The Challenging State of Brand Protection in the Cannabis Industry
Trademark law in the U.S. protects “any word, name, symbol, or design, or any combination thereof, used in commerce” to identify one company’s goods or services from another, and to indicate the source of the goods or services. Protection is…
5.14.2020
Tonkon Torp Holds Pandemic Primer Webinar for Oregon Cannabis Businesses
Tonkon Torp hosted a webinar to help guide cannabis businesses through the unique challenges that the cannabis industry faces due to COVID-19. The panel featured attorneys Danica Hibpshman, Jessica Morgan, Ferdie Ruplin, and David Petersen. Alex…
4.24.2020
Sherrill Corbett and Jessica Morgan Explore Cannabis Business Transition Strategies for PBJ Podcast
Sherrill Corbett and Jessica Morgan were featured guests on the April 8 episode of the Portland Business Journal’s Thought Leadership Podcast. Their episode explored smart transition strategies for businesses in the cannabis industry.
6.26.2019
Rocky Dallum Offers Legislative Update
Rocky Dallum gave an update recapping the 2019 Oregon legislative session for The Seminar Group's 2nd Annual Agriculture Law seminar held on June 25 in Bend, Oregon. The seminar featured an audience of producers, consultants, attorneys, and other…
2.8.2019
Kristin Bremer Moore Speaks at NW Agriculture Show
Tonkon Torp partner Kristin Bremer Moore led a seminar on wage and hour issues in agriculture at the Northwest Agriculture Show. After reviewing the rules laid out in the Fair Standards Labor Act (FLSA), and the Oregon and Washington wage and hour…
8.13.2018
Rocky Dallum Provides Agricultural Law Legislative Update
On July 20, Tonkon Torp partner Rocky Dallum provided a legislative update at the Agriculture Law program held by the Seminar Group. Rocky reviewed the major themes of Oregon’s 2018 legislative session and provided an overview of new laws that will…
6.14.2018
June Tonkon Talk Clarifies the Hazy Law of Industrial Hemp and CBD
Tonkon Torp attorney Alex Tinker, co-chair of the firm’s Cannabis Industry Group, led a discussion at the June 6 Tonkon Talk on the evolving legal status of industrial hemp and CBD. Alex provided a historical context for the current federal…
Representative Matters
Acquisition of Organic Herb Farm
Herb Pharm is a grower and producer of organic herbs. The company purchased its original farm, still in operation, from the founders of the company.