United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns plans to visit the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas School of Law on April 12, 2007. A public forum is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the lawschool courtroom. This is a very significant event for the School of Law and the Center as it highlights the prominence of the School of Law's extensive efforts in agricultural and food law through the National Agricultural Law Center, the Graduate Program in Agricultural Law, and the Journal of Food Law & Policy. The timing of the Secretary's visit is particularly approrpirate, as this year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Graduate Program and the twentieth anniversary of the National Center.
The Secretary's visit provides a unique opportunity for the School of Law to showcase the culmination of years of hard work and dedication in the areas of agricultural and food law. The Graduate Program in Agricultural Law is the first and only comprehensive agricultural LL.M. program in the United States. The National Agricultural Law Center is the nation's leading national and international resource for objective, scholarly, and authoritative agricultural and food law research and information. The Journal of Food Law & Policy is the first student-edited journal in the United States devoted specifically to the study of food law and its impact on society. The Secretary's visit to the School of Law is a testament to the prominent role that the University of Arkansas School of Law has played and will continue to play in the vast national and international agricultural and food law communities.
The Secretary's visit also provides an excellent opportunity for the School of Law's agricultural law community to continue to build on its interdisciplinary development efforts with others in the University and national agricultural communities, including the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences and its well-recognized Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Department, the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, and other agencies and organizations critical to the future of American agriculture.