From Mayo to Midwest: Peterson Focused on Ag as Janzen Schroeder Summer Law Clerk

Understanding agriculture is essential to practicing ag law, and Ainsley Peterson has a firm foundation to build upon as she pursues her law degree. Peterson, who is serving as Janzen Schroeder Ag Law’s Summer Law Clerk, is a native of Mayo, Florida, and grew up on a cow-calf operation.

“I’ve been immersed in agriculture my whole life, and my passion for this industry started at a young age,” Peterson says. She was involved in both 4-H and FFA youth organizations and enjoyed exploring ag policy in high school. To expand her horizon on agriculture, Peterson decided to attend college in the Midwest where she double majored in Ag Economics and Ag Communications at the University of Illinois.

During her sophomore year of college, she took classes in food and ag law, and a spark was lit to combine her ag background with a legal career. Upon graduation, she headed to another Midwest university as she is now seeking her JD degree at the McKinney School of Law at Indiana University Indianapolis.

Entering her second year of law school in the fall of 2024, Peterson is excited for a summer of learning from the Janzen Schroeder team. From research assignments to sitting in on ag zoning discussions, every day brings new insight.

“My work is showing me how multifaceted agricultural law is, and I enjoy digging into topics to expand my knowledge of specific law here in Indiana,” she says. Another important learning experience comes from observing client interaction.

“Building relationships with clients and effectively working with different types of people is a big part of being an attorney, and I’m benefiting from seeing Todd and Brianna work with their wide client base,” Peterson says.

She continues to compare and contrast the agriculture of her youth with the Midwestern approach. “With Florida having more specialty crops and operating on a smaller scale when it comes to traditional row crops, it is interesting to see the large-scale row crop approach of the Midwest,” Peterson notes. While some might think of ag law as “niche,” Peterson sees the opposite.

“Ag law encompasses everything from property and tort law to contract law and so much more, making ag law more complex than one might think at first glance,” she says. “The issues are intricate and novel, meaning there are unique gray areas to explore.”

Peterson’s legal degree is focused on environmental and natural resources law, and her learning continues in the field as well. She is spending her free time this summer helping on a family farm in Central Indiana. From the fields of Florida to zoning issues in Indiana, Ainsley Peterson is learning to speak both ag and law!