Overview
The Burr & Forman Agriculture Funding and Lending Group (AFLG) is a firm-wide industry team consisting of practitioners with experience in the corporate, finance, tax, lending, real estate, and regulatory spaces. The group primarily focuses on projects related to the hemp industry, with particular emphasis on capital raising (equity and debt) activities, corporate transactions related to businesses throughout the industry’s supply chain, and structuring financing transactions. Our attorneys provide services to producers, suppliers, product manufacturers, wholesalers, and retail cannabidiol (CBD) locations, as well as lenders, funds, and other financial institutions. In the broader agricultural industry, we work with agents, lenders, and borrowers across the spectrum of financing for loans secured by crops, livestock, timber, and other goods used in farming operations.
Our AFLG attorneys are experienced in all aspects of projects related to the hemp industry, from financing to providing guidance throughout the cultivation and distribution of industrial hemp and derivative products. We monitor the latest regulations and developments in this sector while analyzing their impact on our clients’ businesses. Our attorneys are actively involved in the American Bar Association (ABA) Subcommittee on Cannabis and Alcoholic Beverages Law, utilizing the most up-to-date resources in this rapidly changing regulatory environment. Additionally, we have significant experience with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), allowing us to provide assistance to all members of the hemp industry supply chain. Our team can help navigate regulations on what can be sold, imported, and exported, as well as packaging and marketing requirements, and under what circumstances specific regulations may apply.
Burr & Forman’s Agriculture Funding and Lending Group also includes attorneys with experience across the spectrum of operations required by businesses in the hemp and general agricultural industry. Our experience includes:
- Purchase and sale of land for hemp cultivation and production
- Agricultural tax considerations
- Conservation easements
- Environmental permitting requirements, such as stormwater and waste management
- Regulatory compliance obligations
- Pesticide issues unique to the hemp industry
- Commercial licensing
- Trademark and patent protection