WOLFF WELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURAL LAW CENTER

News Date March 17, 2008

       Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff this week welcomed Ross Pifer, a Punxsutawney native and experienced agricultural attorney, as the new director of the Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center within the Penn State University's Dickinson School of Law.
       Pifer, a former USDA and U.S. Army attorney, assumed his new duties March 3.
       As director, Pifer will draw on his professional experiences in agriculture and law to oversee the center, providing resources and support through outreach, the development of educational materials and programs, and the center's website.
       "The Agricultural Law Center is a unique resource, and Pennsylvania will benefit from Ross's experience and understanding of our state, our agriculture industry and our laws," said Wolff. "Ross brings a wealth of knowledge gained through his lifelong involvement and experience in agriculture, bringing a keen understanding of the issue confronting the industry, like intellectual property, land use and zoning, economic development, environmental issues, and Pennsylvania's Agriculture, Communities and Rural Environment (ACRE) regulations."
       The Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center is a collaboration between Penn State University's Dickinson School of Law, Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Created in 1997, the Agricultural Law Center is one of only three such entities to be hosted by U.S. law schools.
       Pifer earned a degree in agribusiness from Penn State University in 1990, and was employed as a territory sales manager with Cargill, Inc. Pifer is an alumnus of the Dickinson School of Law, where he earned his juris doctor in 1995. He received additional training through the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General (JAG) program, and at the University of Arkansas where he received a master of laws (LL.M.) in agricultural law.
       Pifer served as a research fellow at the University of Arkansas's National Agricultural Law Center. He returned to Pennsylvania and joined a private practice firm in Gettysburg, where he provided representation to agricultural clients. Since 2005, Pifer served as an attorney-advisor for USDA's Office of General Counsel in Harrisburg.
       For more information on the Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center, visit http://www.dsl.psu.edu/ and click on "Institutes and Centers" and then "Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center." (Contact: Nicole L. Cullison, 717/787-5085)