We empower agricultural communities to resolve their own legal vulnerabilities, within an ecosystem of support.
A single legal vulnerability can be make or break for a farm. But farmers, ranchers, and agriculture communities already have their hands full taking on goliaths like monopolistic agribusiness companies. Local farms need a leg up.
We’re helping farms build a common cause for legal resilience — and a new future for small business law in the United States. Why a commons? A commons is a place where those who are dependent on a resource for their livelihoods are also the ones to control and manage that resource. Farms today are getting squeezed by gigantic social and economic forces. They need shared tools for resilience.
A farm business law commons enables farmers, ranchers, and agricultural professionals to:
Farm business owners should be in charge of the legal dynamics that shape their destiny every day. And we can achieve much of that without courtrooms or legislative change. Here’s how.
Farmers build baseline legal resilience by adopting the 10 legal best practices in ways that support their self-defined goals for the farm. This builds collective knowledge and consensus about farm law risk management, while also offering the opportunity to develop legal resilience through in-depth resources, workshops, and other community events.
We foster communities so that they develop their own solutions to complex farm law challenges through access to farmer leadership development as well as educational resources. This promotes dialogue and drives community consensus around farm law challenges.
Trained attorneys, insurance agents, and other professionals are able to provide efficient, effective, and affordable services that facilitate farmers’ self-defined goals in their communities.
As the founder and Executive Director of Farm Commons, Rachel Armstrong creates the organization’s innovative approach to farm law education and risk reduction. Her vision for changing the way consumers experience business law has been awarded with two prestigious fellowships: a 2012 Echoing Green Global Fellowship and a 2018 Ashoka Fellowship. As leading authority on direct to consumer farm law she has authored dozens of publications on farm law matters for farmers, alongside several academic and trade publications for attorneys. Rachel instructs continuing legal education classes for the American Bar Association, teaches farm law for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and is a co-author of “Farmers’ Guide to Business Structures,” published by Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. A graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the University of Wisconsin Madison, she lives in Northern Minnesota with her family.
Erin serves as Farm Common’s Associate Director where she focuses on aligning Farm Commons’ operations with the organization’s mission and vision. She has been with Farm Commons since 2015 and has played a meaningful role in helping to build the organization’s foundation. Her legal experience spans over fifteen years in an array of contexts including clerking for a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, litigating on behalf of clean water and biodiversity, and providing legal support to nonprofits and small businesses. Erin holds a law degree from Emory University and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies with a concentration in Environmental Science from Northwestern University. She is a member of both the California and Washington State Bar Associations. Erin has weaved her passion for food and farming throughout her life and around the globe, from spending her childhood summers on her grandparent’s farm in Northern California, supporting urban gardens in the Southside of Chicago, launching a catering company, and working on a biodynamic farm on the southern tip of Western Australia. Erin currently lives in Switzerland with her husband and daughter where she enjoys cooking and eating locally grown veggies and wandering in the forests. She feels inspired and nourished to be part of Farm Common’s amazing team and community.
Jeanette's Bio Coming Soon!
Chloe Forkner Johnson is Farm Common’s Staff Attorney. She has a dozen years of legal experience working with clients and in advocacy positions. As an agricultural attorney, Chloe has advised farmers on small business formation, zoning, and real estate issues. At Farm Commons, Chloe ensures the agricultural community receive sharp legal analysis as she writes newsletters, books, guides, and supports curriculum development. Chloe comes from a farming background, having farmed for many seasons on diversified vegetable and flower farms in her home state, Georgia, and North Carolina. She’s worked at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, providing technical assistance to farmers on GAP certification and Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) compliance. Chloe also proudly served as a Public Defender early in her legal career and later worked to develop equity programs for lawyers and court systems with a nonprofit in Raleigh, NC. Chloe earned her bachelor’s degree from New College of Florida and her law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, GA. Chloe lives in a community on land traditionally part of the territory of the Saponi people in the Piedmont of what is now the state of North Carolina.
Farm Commons is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and your support through membership or a donation is greatly appreciated.
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