Jennifer Zwagerman

Biography

Jennifer Zwagerman is the Director of Drake’s Agricultural Law Center and an Associate Professor of Law at Drake University Law School. A 2004 graduate of Drake Law School, Jennifer received her LL.M. in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas and served for two years as a law clerk to Judge David Hansen, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. After completing her clerkship, she joined the Des Moines office of Faegre & Benson (n/k/a Faegre Drinker) where she was an attorney in the general litigation group with a national practice in food and agricultural law.

Jennie joined Drake full-time in 2011 as Director of Career Development and taught classes in food & agricultural law. She was named Director of the Drake Agricultural Law Center in July 2019. She teaches numerous food and agricultural law/policy classes, property law, and is active in national, state, and local professional organizations. Jennie’s interests and research are varied, but she has a particular focus on rural development, rural justice, access to food, and ensuring that our food production continues to evolve to reflect sustainability, nutrition, and education goals while also recognizing and supporting the hard work and dedication of those who produce it.

Areas of Expertise

Agriculture Law, Food Law and Policy, Animal, Property Law

Education

• LLM, University of Arkansas School of Law, Fayetteville
• JD, Drake Law School, highest honors, Order of the Coif, Drake Journal of Agricultural Law, Opperman Scholar
• BS, Michigan State University, high honors

Selected Publications

• National Security and Farmland Ownership: Livin' AFIDA Loca (July 31, 2025). Available at SSRN. 
• Greenwashing and Sustainability Claims in Food and Agriculture: Understanding and Minimizing Risk, Drake Journal of Agricultural Law (2024).
• Agroecology in Food Transparency: Labels and Certifications, Gabriela Steier Adam Friedlander ed., Food System Transparency: Law, Science and Policy of Food and Agriculture (CRC Press, 2021).
• Agriculture & Data Privacy: I Want a HIPAA(potamus) for Christmas . . . Maybe, 8 Texas A&M Law Review 685 (2021).
• Beyond the Law: What I Learned About Agricultural Law, Mentoring, Teaching, and Success from Professor Neil Hamilton, 24 Drake Journal of Agricultural Law 287 (2019).
• Proactive Policies: Building the Farm Bill of the Future Through New Collaborations & Perspectives, 14 Journal of Food Law & Policy 72 (2018).
• Recognizing Challenges and Opportunities in the Quest to End Hunger, 4 Texas A&M Law Review 315 (2017).
• Checking Out the Checkoff: An Overview and Where We Are Now that the Legal Battles Have Quieted , 14 Drake Journal of Agricultural Law 149 (2009).

Significant Accomplishments

• President (2017-2018); President-elect (2016-2017); Past-president (2018-2019); Board of Directors (2014-2016); Member (2001-present), American Agricultural Law Association
• Chair (2024); Chair-elect (2023); Secretary (2022); Executive Committee (2020-2021), Food & Agricultural Law Section; Executive Committee (2023-present), Animal Law Section, American Association of Law Schools
• Board of Trustees (2019-2023); Chair (2020-2023); Vice-chair (2019-2020), Academy of Food Law and Policy
• Board of Directors (2017-2019); Chair, Small/Solo CSO Section (2013-2015), National Association for Law Placement
• Member, Iowa State Bar Association Rural Practice Committee; Agricultural Law Section Council (2004-present)
• Member, American Bar Association (2004-present)
• Member, Polk County Bar Association (2007-present)
• Faculty Advisor, Drake Agricultural & Environmental Law Association (2019 – present)
• Faculty Advisor, Drake Journal of Agricultural Law (2019 – present)
• Faculty Advisor, Drake OWLS (Older, Wiser Law Students) (2019 – present)
• Professional Scholarship Award, American Agricultural Law Association (2021)
• Student Bar Association Faculty Service Award (2021-2022)
• Student Bar Association Staff Service Award (2013-2014)