Neil Hamilton

Prof. Neil D. Hamilton, is the Dwight D. Opperman Chair of Law and Director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa.  He has directed the Center since 1983 and helped establish its national and international reputation for excellence in research, education and public extension on food policy, agricultural law and rural development.   He is past-president of the American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) and has authored several books, including the nationally award winning What Farmers Need to Know About Environmental Law (1990) and the Legal Guide to Direct Farm Marketing (1999).  He has written numerous law review articles on topics such as: food democracy, rural lands, intellectual property rights and plant genetics, the future of agricultural law, sustainable agricultural land tenure, agricultural industrialization, and production contracts.   He has conducted legal seminars throughout the U.S. and in twenty-two foreign countries.  He was on the Advisory Board of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University from 1987 to 2008.  He is on the boards of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Seed Savers Exchange. From 2000 to 2006 he chaired the Iowa Food Policy Council.  He has a B.S. from Iowa State Univ., 1976 in Forestry and Economics, and a J.D. from Univ. of Iowa.  He and his wife Khanh own Sunstead Farm near Waukee, Iowa and raise produce and flowers for local restaurants.