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 trial courts in multiple states, including Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska Nevada and North Dakota. 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 United States 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 United States 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 Cases

• Hormel Foods Corporation v. Crystal Distribution Services, Inc., 2012 WL 1119885, (N.D.Iowa, April 03, 2012).  Granting client Hormel Foods' motions in limine and denying defendant's motions in limine related to effect of non-negotiable warehouse receipt, product salvage value, and real party in-interest and subrogation issues related to loss of Hormel Foods products (2.5 million pounds of meat) in cold storage warehouse during 2008 flooding.  The jury later found in favor of Hormel Foods and judgment, in the amount of $4.02 million was entered in favor of Hormel Foods on April 17, 2012.
• Cargill, Incorporated v. Biodiesel of Las Vegas, Inc., 2010 WL 4121850 (D. Nev. 2010). Granting client Cargill, Inc.'s motion to compel arbitration of dispute regarding the sale of soybean oil pursuant to rules of National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA).
• Cargill, Incorporated v. Matt Ward, et al, NGFA Arbitration No. 2287 (NGFA 2010). Successfully obtained NGFA Arbitration award of $1,950,475 following oral hearing in dispute arising out of breach of multiple grain contracts. 
• Ney Leasing Corporation, Inc. v. Cargill Meat Logistics Solutions, Inc., f/k/a Wispak Transport, Inc., 2010 WL 2346622 (N.D. Iowa 2010). Order for judgment following trial, denying majority of plaintiff's claims and awarding plaintiff less than one-quarter of damages sought in breach of commercial lease agreement between plaintiff and client Cargill Meat Logistics Solutions, Inc.
• Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., v. Ivan L. NELSON and Thomas M. Nelson, 2009 WL 2429003, (C.D. Il. 2009). Entering permanent injunction in favor of client Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.'s following complaint alleging patent infringement, violation of license agreement and conversion.
• Junk v. Terminix Intern. Co., Ltd., 577 F.Supp.2d 1086 (S.D. Iowa Sep 11, 2008), see also 2008 WL 5142188 (S.D. Iowa Aug 15, 2008), 2008 WL 5142193 (S.D. Iowa Nov 03, 2008), 2008 WL 5191865 (S.D. Iowa Nov 03, 2008). Granting clients The Dow Chemical Company and Dow Agrosciences' motions to strike experts and motions for summary judgment with respect to products liability claims involving a minor's alleged in utero exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos.
• Cargill, Incorporated. v. Mitchell, 2008 WL 4724855 (Iowa App., October 29, 2008). Affirming trial court's dismissal of collateral claims against client Cargill by an appellate bond surety to offset against bond proceeds and holding that following issuance of procedendo the only additional proceedings allowed, pursuant to appellate bond procedures, are for the determination of damages and costs.
• Burns v. Universal Crop Prot. Alliance, 2007 WL 2811533, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71716 (E.D. Ark. Sept. 25, 2007). Holding that Arkansas law requires that where several defendants' products may have produced injury, a plaintiff must introduce sufficient evidence that exposure to a particular defendant's product was a substantial factor in producing the injury, rejecting market share liability and granting client United Agri Products, Inc.'s request for phased discovery, also termed a Lone Pine order and named for Lore v. Lone Pine Corp., 1986 N.J. Super. LEXIS 1626, 1986 WL 637507, No. L-33606-85 (N.J. Super. Ct.1986).
• DeBruce Grain, Inc. v. Mitchell, No. 6-1010/05-1934 (Iowa App. July 25, 2007). Affirming trial court's decision in action arising out of a dispute as to the ownership of a cash forward contract for the purchase of soybeans and awarding the proceeds of the contract to client Cargill.
• Kordek v. United Agri Prods., Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27903 (N.D. Ill. April 16, 2007). Denying plaintiffs' motion to quash a subpoena issued by client United Agri Products and directed to counsel for the plaintiffs seeking counsel's file prior to the commencement of the purported limitations period because plaintiff had placed the information "at issue" by pleading the applicability of the discovery rule.
• Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. v. Flesner, No. 05-cv-03258 (C.D. Ill. January 17, 2006). Entering a permanent injunction in favor of client Pioneer in action arising out of defendants' unlawful "brown bag" sales of Pioneer seed.
• Cargill, Incorporated. v. Mitchell, 720 N.W.2d 192 (Table) (Iowa App. April 26, 2006). Affirming trial court's decision setting aside a fraudulent conveyance to evade client Cargill's judgment against plaintiff.
• Cargill, Incorporated. et al v. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General of the State of Iowa, Case No. 4:06-cv-20 (S.D. Iowa January 19, 2006). Consent decree between the State of Iowa and client Cargill (and its affiliates) setting aside as unconstitutional Iowa's prohibition against processor ownership of livestock.
• Del-Maur Farms v. Cargill, Incorporated. et al, No. 4:04-cv-03282 (D. Neb. January 20, 2005). Dismissing plaintiff's Packers and Stockyards Act claim against client Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation.
• Abmeyer et al v. NuFarm et al, No. 1:04-cv-00093 (E.D. Mo. November 1, 2004). Dismissing plaintiffs' nuisance claim against client United Agri Products in action arising out of the alleged off target movement of pesticide in Arkansas and Missouri.

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

Professional Associations

• Iowa Bar Association
• Section Council — Agricultural Law Section
• National Grain and Feed Association
• American Meat Institute

Presentations

• Regulatory Threats to Animal Agriculture
  CVS Swine Conference, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Ill. (2011)
• Commodity Agreements and Contracting Procedures
  National Grain and Feed Association's 39th Annual Country Elevator Conference, Indianapolis (2010)
• USDA-GIPSA Proposed Rule – Implications for the Swine Industry
  CVS Swine Conference, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Ill. (2010)
• Counterparty Risk Management: Best Practices in Today's Marketplace
  Food, Agriculture & Biofuels 2010 National Conference, Minneapolis (2010)
• Counterparty Risk and Commodity Contracts
  Kansas Bankers Association: 2010 Kansas Ag Bankers Conference, Manhattan, Kan. (2010)
• Ag Retail Contracting and Risk Management
  Ag Retail Association, 2009 Annual Convention, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (2009)
• Reducing Counterparty Risk—Managing Contracts and Disputes in Today's Markets
  Iowa Institute for Cooperatives, Spring Seminar (2009)
  Agribusiness Association of Iowa Annual Meeting (2009)
  Grain Journal Webinar (2009)
  NGFA Country Elevator/Feed Industry Conference (2008)
• Do Diligence: Little Mistakes Can Add Up
  Association of Corporate Counsel, Iowa Chapter (2008)
• Recovery From Flood: Commercial Concerns and Insurance Coverage Webinar
  Faegre Baker Daniels (2008)
• Reducing Counterparty Risk Through Proper Commodity Contracting Procedures
  NGFA Trading, Trade Rules and Dispute Resolution Seminar (2008)
• Arbitration and Agricultural Contracts
  Iowa State Bar Association Annual Meeting (2005)
• Strategies in Defending Agricultural Product Liability Claims
  American Agricultural Law Association Annual Convention (2004)

Legal Updates

• 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)
• When Does a Contract Become Real?
  FEEDGRAIN (April/May 2009)
• 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) and Trends (2008)