Agricultural, food law blog grows
Nov 10, 2009 9:34 AM, By Mary Hightower, University of Arkansas
Attorneys, legislators, policymakers, Extension personnel and producers in the farm and food business have a new online source for their research: the United States Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog.
“There’s a real thirst for this kind of information,” said Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center. “This helps put in one place various sources for those who need information on agricultural law.”
“The United States Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog is a welcome partnership between the Center and the American Agricultural Law Association,” said Robert Achenbach, executive director of the association. “In fact, the AALA had a record increase in membership this year, which I would attribute to the United States Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog.”
Since going live in March, the blog has attracted 100 to 150 visits a day, “not counting the 100-plus RSS feeds,” he said. An RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is a popular way to receive Web site updates without refreshing pages or receiving e-mail.
“Our audience is anyone looking for straightforward, no-spin, comprehensive news, research, and information on agricultural and food law and policy issues,” Pittman said.
Keeping the blog current, with up to 10 postings a day, is a team effort, “but research assistant Noel Smith is definitely the go-to guy,” Pittman said.
So far, user feedback has been very positive.
“We’ve gotten a couple of questions about letting people sign up for RSS feeds for specific subject areas rather than all posts, which we may have to address in the weeks ahead,” he said.
Visit the blog at www.agandfoodlaw.com.
The National Agricultural Law Center was established in 1987. The center is the nation’s leading national and international resource for agricultural and food law research and information. Visit the center online at http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org.
