Jacob Bylund is a leader of the firm's food and agriculture industry team. He represents some of the nation's largest companies within the food and agriculture industries and stays abreast of market and industry issues.

Jacob has litigated on behalf of and counseled companies in the following areas:

• Agricultural products liability
• Agricultural and food contracts and related litigation
• Agricultural debtor-creditor litigation and counseling
• Agricultural intellectual property litigation
• Environmental and nuisance law litigation and counseling
• Food and agriculture specific antitrust and trade regulation

Jacob has argued cases before appellate courts in Iowa and Minnesota and has represented clients in lower courts in over a dozen states. In addition, Jacob has represented clients in numerous arbitration proceedings before the American Arbitration Association, JAMS and the National Grain and Feed Association.

Jacob has also represented clients before the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of General Counsel, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jacob also counsels clients regarding the development of vertically integrated or coordinated procurement systems, including the use of production agreements, marketing agreements and licensing agreements, and the legal issues, at the local, state, and federal levels and retailer and customer levels associated with such systems.

Representative Trials and Arbitrations

• IronPlanet, Inc. v. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (America), Inc., (Iowa District Court, February 4, 2013).  Obtained $2.5 million jury verdict in favor of client IronPlanet following nine day jury trial.
• Hormel Foods Corporation v. AgFeed USA, LLC, (American Arbitration Association, January 8, 2013).  Obtained $8.8 million arbitration award in favor of client Hormel Foods.
• Cargill, Incorporated v. H&M Farms, Inc., (D. Nebraska, September 27, 2012).  Obtained directed verdict as to $1.25 million claim of H&M Farms and secured judgment in favor of client Cargill, Incorporated following nine-day jury trial.
• Hormel Foods Corporation v. Crystal Distribution Services, Inc., (N.D.Iowa, April 16, 2012).  Obtained $4.02 million jury verdict in favor of client Hormel Foods following five-day jury trial.
• Cargill, Incorporated v. Matt Ward, et al, (National Grain and Feed Association Arbitration, May 17, 2010).  Obtained $1.9 million arbitration award in favor of client Cargill, Incorporated.

Pro Bono

• Brain Injury Association of Iowa (BIA-IA)

Honors

• BTI Consulting Group — BTI Client Service All-Star, 2012
• Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business — Litigation, General Commercial, 2011-12

Professional Associations

• Iowa Bar Association
• National Grain and Feed Association
• American Meat Institute
• Faegre Baker Daniels Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Group

Presentations

• Regulatory Threats to Animal Agriculture
  CVS Swine Conference, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL, 2011
• Commodity Agreements and Contracting Procedures
  National Grain and Feed Association's 39th Annual Country Elevator Conference, Indianapolis, IN, 2010
• USDA-GIPSA Proposed Rule – Implications for the Swine Industry
  CVS Swine Conference, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL, 2010
• Ag Retail Contracting and Risk Management
  Ag Retail Association, 2009 Annual Convention, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, 2009
• Reducing Counterparty Risk—Managing Contracts and Disputes in Today's Markets
  NGFA Country Elevator/Feed Industry Conference, 2008
  Iowa Institute for Cooperatives, Spring Seminar, 2009
  Agribusiness Association of Iowa Annual Meeting, 2009
  Grain Journal Webinar, 2009
  Kansas Bankers Association: 2010 Kansas Ag Bankers Conference, 2010

Published Articles

• GIPSA Final Rule Emerges with Limited Provisions
  Pork Magazine, 2012
• Vertical Coordination in the Food, Agriculture, and Biofuel Industries: Addressing Unique Challenges
  Feedstuffs, 2011
• Competition hearings get "Reality Check"
  Feedstuffs, 2011
• What You Need to Know About Lien Priority Issues in Pork Industry
  porkNetwork, 2011
• Documenting the Trade: Proper Contracting Procedure
  The Art of Grain Merchandising, 2010
• Counterparty Risk: Managing Counterparty Risk
  Grain Journal, 2009
• Strategies for Survival: Doing Business on More Than a Handshake
  Grain and Feed, 2009
• Counterparty Risk, Managing Contracts and Disputes in Today's Markets
  Grain Journal, 2009
• Prop 2: Is It Constitutional?
  Feedstuffs, 2008
• Ag Commodity Prices: A Crisis Averted?
  Feedstuffs, 2008
• Ag Commodity Prices: Spurring a New Farm Crisis?
  The Nebraska Lawyer, 2008