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jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker
@jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
6.3K followers 690 following 150 posts
Law Prof | Fulbright Scholar | Carnegie Fellow Property Law, Land Tenure, Rural People and Places Research: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=670021 Engagement: https://www.ruralreconcile.org/
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jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 9
As markets churn and world orders reset, @jamesftierney.bsky.social and I have a new piece forthcoming in Yale Law Journal that couldn't be more timely. "Trading Acres" traces the risks of farmland financialization and analyzes the role of law in this ongoing rural land grab. 🧵
Abstract - Trading Acres - forthcoming Yale Law Journal - Jessica A Shoemaker and James Fallows Tierney - Farms are places where people live their lives, sustain their families, and produce food and fiber for the wider community. And now, farms are assets swept up into global financial channels—converting before our eyes from repositories of the best of our agrarian ideals into paper playthings for the very rich. This asset-class-ification of farmland echoes patterns of financialization occurring across other elements of our daily lives, including housing, and compounds wider crises of concentration and industrialization in agriculture. But as an active land grab unfolds across rural America, farmland’s recent capture by absentee investors is particularly concerning. Farmland’s conversion to asset class threatens rural livelihoods, agriculture and food system resilience, and economic and spatial justice. In this article, we argue that Wall Street’s arrival at rural America’s gate is not merely a market trend but rather the product of deep social choices governing the accumulation of investor wealth: property, corporate, and securities law. We explore the ways in which these deep structures of our legal system—from the primacy of market logics to a range of biases that skew our spatial, temporal, and social relations—constitute the conditions for this profound transformation in the way farmland, as a basic and essential rural resource, is being integrated into the modern capital economy. Together, business and property law create the conditions for land concentration, rural depopulation, environmental degradation, and labor exploitation. Today’s rural land grab is meeting little resistance. But historically, investor-owned farmland was seen as a deep and politically-motivating threat to rural life. We situate past reform attempts to rein in financialized farmland and conclude that many attempts failed because modest doctrinal interventions result in playing shell gam…
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Reposted by Jessica A. Shoemaker
rural-reconcile.bsky.social
Rural Reconciliation Project @rural-reconcile.bsky.social · Jul 29
📢 New commentary!
We're thrilled to feature a guest piece by Ann M. Eisenberg on how long-ignored economic and policy shifts shaped political realignment and why rural discontent matters.
Check it out here: www.ruralreconcile.org/ruralreview/...
Why Aren’t We Talking About Rural Voters Anymore? — The Rural Reconciliation Project
If you pay attention to public discourse about rural populations, you might have noticed something missing in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election: think-pieces on rural voter s. These th...
www.ruralreconcile.org
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Reposted by Jessica A. Shoemaker
andrewkjennings.com
Andrew Jennings @andrewkjennings.com · Aug 5
Why does it matter who owns America's farms?

@jessicashoemaker.bsky.social (@unlcollegeoflaw.bsky.social) and @jamesftierney.bsky.social (@chicagokentlaw.bsky.social) join @busscholarship.bsky.social to discuss their article "Trading Acres." 1/2
Business Scholarship Podcast - Ep.254 – Jessica Shoemaker and James Tierney on Financializing...
YouTube video by Business Scholarship Podcast
youtu.be
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jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Jul 29
Also, Nebraska is beautiful.
jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Jul 27
10/10 - writing about land while on the land. Interdisciplinary biological stations forever.
Sunset across the high plains.
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jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Jul 27
10/10 - writing about land while on the land. Interdisciplinary biological stations forever.
Sunset across the high plains.
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Reposted by Jessica A. Shoemaker
rural-reconcile.bsky.social
Rural Reconciliation Project @rural-reconcile.bsky.social · Jun 12
Check out our digest of ‪@fhisey.bsky.social‬, Melissa Heppner, and Andrea Olive’s qualitative study on how social acceptance and material resources complicate the return of bison to the Canadian plains. Read more on how land, animals, and history intersect:
Hisey et al.: Fears and Fences: Bison on the Canadian Prairies — The Rural Reconciliation Project
In Fears and Fences: Social and Material Barriers to Plains Bison on the Canadian Prairies , auth ors Forrest Hisey, Melissa Heppner (both Geography, Geomatics, and Environment, Univers ity of Toro...
www.ruralreconcile.org
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Reposted by Jessica A. Shoemaker
rural-reconcile.bsky.social
Rural Reconciliation Project @rural-reconcile.bsky.social · Jun 4
Our digest of Elizabeth Kronk Warner and Jesús A. Salazar's article on shared stewardship shares their insights on the role of tribal governments in the management of U.S. public lands and identifies opportunities for future collaboration.
Warner and Salazar: Shared Stewardship — The Rural Reconciliation Project
In Shared Stewardship, El izabeth Kronk Warne r and Jesús A. Salazar (Both Law, University of Utah) challenge the trend of excluding tribes from participation of co-stewardship of national lands...
www.ruralreconcile.org
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jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Jun 4
This is a super interesting piece - hope people read the whole article. @sjquinney.bsky.social
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · May 27
Here's a thread with some context about the project. Truly appreciate any feedback or comments: bsky.app/profile/jess...
jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 9
As markets churn and world orders reset, @jamesftierney.bsky.social and I have a new piece forthcoming in Yale Law Journal that couldn't be more timely. "Trading Acres" traces the risks of farmland financialization and analyzes the role of law in this ongoing rural land grab. 🧵
Abstract - Trading Acres - forthcoming Yale Law Journal - Jessica A Shoemaker and James Fallows Tierney - Farms are places where people live their lives, sustain their families, and produce food and fiber for the wider community. And now, farms are assets swept up into global financial channels—converting before our eyes from repositories of the best of our agrarian ideals into paper playthings for the very rich. This asset-class-ification of farmland echoes patterns of financialization occurring across other elements of our daily lives, including housing, and compounds wider crises of concentration and industrialization in agriculture. But as an active land grab unfolds across rural America, farmland’s recent capture by absentee investors is particularly concerning. Farmland’s conversion to asset class threatens rural livelihoods, agriculture and food system resilience, and economic and spatial justice. In this article, we argue that Wall Street’s arrival at rural America’s gate is not merely a market trend but rather the product of deep social choices governing the accumulation of investor wealth: property, corporate, and securities law. We explore the ways in which these deep structures of our legal system—from the primacy of market logics to a range of biases that skew our spatial, temporal, and social relations—constitute the conditions for this profound transformation in the way farmland, as a basic and essential rural resource, is being integrated into the modern capital economy. Together, business and property law create the conditions for land concentration, rural depopulation, environmental degradation, and labor exploitation. Today’s rural land grab is meeting little resistance. But historically, investor-owned farmland was seen as a deep and politically-motivating threat to rural life. We situate past reform attempts to rein in financialized farmland and conclude that many attempts failed because modest doctrinal interventions result in playing shell gam…
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jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · May 27
I'm not sure any article I've ever written has caused more reader feelings than this one... "Trading Acres" with the fabulous @jamesftierney.bsky.social now live on SSRN and forthcoming in YLJ. Feel free to share your feelings too! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Trading Acres
Farms are places where people live their lives, sustain their families, and produce food and fiber for the wider community. And now, farms are assets swept up i
papers.ssrn.com
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jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · May 21
Full CFP here: www.ruralreconcile.org/cfp-lrwip2025
Call for Proposals - Law & Rurality Workshop - Fall 2023 (Virtual) — The Rural Reconciliation Project
Call for Proposals for online Law & Rurality Workshop to be co-hosted by University of Nebraska College of Law Rural Reconciliaton Project and the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law. Det...
www.ruralreconcile.org
jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · May 21
When everything is hard, at least we can host a workshop that promises really good swag and a lovely, supportive community. Join us, online this Fall! www.ruralreconcile.org/programs/fal...
Law & Rurality Workshop (handdrawn logo with a coffee cup with Rural Reconciliation Project logo) - Hosted Online - Fall 2025
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Reposted by Jessica A. Shoemaker
rural-reconcile.bsky.social
Rural Reconciliation Project @rural-reconcile.bsky.social · May 19
How might we understand the place-based policy efforts of the Biden administration? Our digest on
@gretegans.bsky.social‬'s taxonomy of ‘Bidenomics’ classifies 4 major policy types targeting regional inequality and is a great place to start:
Gansauer: A Taxonomy of ‘Bidenomics’ — The Rural Reconciliation Project
In For Growth or Equity: A Taxonomy of ‘Bidenomics’ Place-Based Policies and Implications for US Regional Inequality , Gret e Gansauer (Earth Sciences, Montana State University) develops a new taxo...
www.ruralreconcile.org
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · May 15
These replies are what I needed today.
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · May 5
And obviously - "but what about me? what about my child?" - comment/question doesn't undermine that this is great innovation and all exam methodologies impact different people differently, this may reduce concerns for others, etc.
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jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · May 5
Appreciate this thread & also concern re bias very much. Curious for experience re: accommodations. I have a child who stutters, so this would be total nightmare for her. I'm a little doubtful re: efficacy of accommodations in large-scale subjective grading - but check/plus/minus helps.
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 25
This literally just changed my life.
chronicleflask.katday.com
Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · Apr 25
This is your occasional reminder that typing “-ai” before your search term is pretty effective at preventing the often-inaccurate Ai summaries

(Yes, I know there are other ways: this is the quickest and easiest to remember)
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 23
Hi Kathryn! Happy to share the working draft - do you mind sending an email? I’ll follow up!
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 12
Thanks Brandon!
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 10
Thanks Nicole! Connects to so much of your important work on housing for sure.
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 9
Feel free to send us an email - we welcome comments as we continue to edit and finalize.
jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 9
You're my favorite. As you know and hopefully expect, this article would not have been possible without Fields of Gold and all of your brilliant work.
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 9
MERS has entered the chat….
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 9
Information Anticommons? All these county/local county recording offices just a perennial data problem...
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Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 9
Agree, @kalimurray.bsky.social, this is really cool. You or your colleague might also be interested in this somewhat related Lincoln resource, which I share whenever I can! Rental and rental-conversion rates included as part in public health maps: www.chelincoln.org/placematters...
Place Matters Maps
Play around with interactive maps that show health-related data collected for the city of Lincoln
www.chelincoln.org
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jessicashoemaker.bsky.social
Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 9
Quaint little memory of long ago... :)
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