KJEANRL
Running in Circles: Defining “Horse Racing ...

In this blog, 2L staffer Kylee Greene analyzes the current landscape of Kentucky’s Farm Animal Activity Act’s (FAAA) horse racing exemption. She argues that the definition of “horse racing activity” under the FAAA is inadequate and proposes a three-factor test that considers the nature of the farm animal activity, whether the plaintiff’s injury occurred on the racetrack, and the temporal proximity between the plaintiff’s injury and the race.

Running in Circles: Defining “Horse Racing Activity” Under Kentucky’s Farm Animal
KJEANRL
When the Clock Changes: House Bill 320, KRS ...

In this blog, staffer Aaron Withers examines House Bill 320, which in 2024 shortened Kentucky's limitations period for civil rights and wrongful-discharge claims from five years to three without saying whether the change reaches claims that had already accrued. Withers argues that under KRS 446.080(3), claims that accrued before July 15, 2024 remain subject to the five-year period, and that courts lack authority to write in the grace period the General Assembly left out. He urges the General Assembly to adopt a default transition rule in KRS Chapter 446, explaining why certainty matters to Kentucky farms and mineral interests.

When the Clock Changes: House Bill 320, KRS 446.080(3), and Claims That Accrued Before 2024
Equine
KJEANRL
Who Owns a Horse’s DNA? Genetic Testing, ...

In this blog, 3L staffer Emma Johns examines how equine genetic testing raises questions about control over genetic information and disclosure obligations in Kentucky horse sales. She argues that Kentucky should encourage clearer sale and testing agreements governing disclosure, sample retention, and data use, while clarifying when known genetic results trigger the warranty exception for sellers who knowingly sell diseased animals.

Who Owns a Horse’s DNA? Genetic Testing, Disclosure, and the Future of Equine Sales
KJEANRL
Horses and Divorces: Valuing Unborn Racehorses ...

In this blog, 3L staffer Jordan Guancione explores how Kentucky divorce courts should value unborn racehorses by looking to how courts have divided unvested pensions and stock options. She examines the “immediate offset” method as a potential solution for dividing an asset whose future value remains uncertain.

Horses and Divorces: Valuing Unborn Racehorses in Kentucky Divorce Courts
Agriculture
KJEANRL
Living with the Land: An Examination of Indoor ...

In this blog, 2L staffer Kristen Bailey analyzes Disney's “Living with the Land” attraction that takes guests through a tour of one of Disney's greenhouses, showcasing their innovative and sustainable agricultural practices. Disney goes above state regulations and follows stricter self-created guidelines, posing the question of whether state law adequately protects indoor agriculture when Disney is going beyond state and federal regulations to create their own. This blog argues that states should enact more specific and detailed regulations regarding indoor agricultural practices in order to best protect our environment. 

Living with the Land: An Examination of Indoor Agriculture Regulations

Agriculture

Local Food Movement Builds in Kentucky

Local Food Movement Builds in Kentucky

The local food movement is growing stronger and is expanding exponentially across the United States.  Local Food sales topped $11.7 billion last year according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which has invested more than $800 million in more than 29,100 local and regional businesses and infrastructure projects. This investment is part of a federal initiative called “Local Foods, Local Places,” which invites communities to participate by providing direct technical support to build strong local food systems.[ii] Over 4,000 local and regional food businesses and projects – including food hubs, farm-to-school programs, and initiatives to expand health food access to low-income communities – can be pinpointed in every state across the country. Kentucky leads the nation in participation in this federally funded local food project.

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Urban Agriculture on the High Rise: How Vertical Farming will Influence the World’s Cities

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Urban Agriculture on the High Rise: How Vertical Farming will Influence the World’s Cities

Dr. Dickson Despommier, professor of public health at Columbia University, created the concept of “vertical farming” back in 1999. Dr. Despommier and his students discovered that with a city, like New York, instead of looking towards flat land for food growth, the city should start looking up. Dr. Despommier and his class on medical ecology estimate that 30-story vertical farm towers could feed 50,000 people.

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Bees and the Controversial Use of Neonicotinoid Pesticides

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The recent upsurge in mass numbers of unexplained bee deaths has stirred debate over what could be causing these incidents around the globe. Some scientists now believe that a specific class of pesticides called neonicotinoids might be to blame. Last December, the European Union enacted a two-year ban on three types of neonicotinoid pesticides in response to the European Food Safety Authority’s report that stated that neonicotinoids pose “high acute risks” to pollinators, likes bees. The U.S. currently has no such ban in place. However, the EPA has expressed similar apprehension over the insecticide’s long-term effects, and certain U.S. cities are currently considering instituting local bans. 

Putting More Green in Your Pocket and in the Ground

San Francisco, California recently became the first city in California to implement a new state law offering a tax break to urban individuals who use their property to grow food. This new state law allows residents to use their urban property to produce food and, in return, the assessed value of their property is lowered, thereby lowering their property tax.

UK Successfully Harvests First Legal Hemp Crop

After years of legislative consideration, the University of Kentucky (“UK”) recently harvested in mere minutes its first legal hemp crop under the Industrial Hemp Program. In September, UK yielded ten-foot stalks at Spindletop Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. The harvest marked Kentucky’s first legal hemp harvest in seventy years. UK planted the hemp in conjunction with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (“KDA”) under the Industrial Hemp Program (“Program”) established by the Federal Farm Bill.

How the Kentucky Grape and Wine Council’s Grants Promote Kentucky Wineries

With a seemingly Dionysian blessing, Kentucky has once again become a wine producing state. Prior to Prohibition, “Kentucky was the third largest grape and wine producing state in the nation.” Prohibition, which placed a cork in this production, deeply hurt Kentucky wineries with the resurgence of Kentucky wineries occurring only in the past two decades. “‘Ten years ago, Kentucky had only two or three wineries….” Now, over sixty wineries and vineyards thrive in Kentucky.

Coming to a Cornfield Near You: The Global Race to Precision Agriculture and Use of UAVs

The days of the horse-drawn plow are far behind us, and the age of precision agriculture is quickly taking over.  By “collecting real-time data on weather, soil and air quality, crop maturity and even equipment and labor costs and availability” farmers can make predictive decisions about how to manage their crops.  Scientists around the world believe that precision agriculture will be the solution to answering the world’s food production challenges that will inevitably arise as the global population increases.