Neil Hamilton Biography

Professor Hamilton is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the role of law in shaping agriculture and the food system. He has lectured throughout the United States and in over 20 other countries. He has taught agricultural law for 30 years and has written more than four dozen law review articles and several books on food and agricultural law issues. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Nantes in France for 18 years and teaches annually at the agricultural law graduate program at the University of Arkansas.

In addition to teaching classes each semester, Professor Hamilton advises the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law, helps arrange internships and other work experiences in a student’s area of interest, and provides opportunities for students to assist in various research and agricultural law projects.

Professor Hamilton formerly served as the co-chair of the USDA Small Farms Advisory Committee and served for 25 years on the advisory board for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.  He was the chair of the Iowa Food Policy Council from 2000 to 2007 and also served on the boards of the Farmer’s Legal Action Group (FLAG) and the National Gardening Association. He is currently on the boards of the Seed Savers Exchange and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. He is a former president of the American Agricultural Law Association and has served as a consultant for many international organizations such as the United Nations Development Program in China, the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew, the World Bank, and the International Potato Research Center in Lima, Peru.