In 1988 , she ran for the office of North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture and became the first woman in the country elected to such a position , serving two terms in office . “ I saw if I could become commissioner of agriculture , I would be running the farm advocate and agriculture mediation program and also impact programs that would help farmers increase their income .”
In 1997 , she went into private practice first with Wheeler Wolf and then with the Sarah Vogel Law Firm , where she continued her work with farmers in North Dakota and elsewhere .
For two decades , from 1999 to 2019 , Vogel was co-counsel in another national class action lawsuit , Keepseagle v . Vilsack , which sued the USDA for race discrimination against thousands of Native American farmers and ranchers . USDA settled this case for $ 790 million in damages and up to $ 80 million in loan forgiveness , and also agreed to major reforms in lending practices related to Native American borrowers .
As part of the Keepseagle case settlement , Vogel and her co-counsel distributed $ 38 million in awards to nonprofits helping Native American farmers and ranchers . The Keepseagle case also led to the creation of the Native American Agriculture Fund .
“ When I look back and think of my early goal of having the USDA get rid of discrimination and to treat farmers fairly , our legal work has made a tremendous difference ,” says Vogel . “ But there are still many problems farmers face . I hope my book will give readers some sense of how important it is to save family farms .”
Sharing Her Story
“ As time went by , I realized the importance of the Coleman case ,” Vogel says in deciding to write a book about her experiences during this landmark case . “ I hope to inspire a client or attorney somewhere to say , ‘ I too can do something and make a difference .’”
In addition , she says she could sense another farm crisis approaching and wanted to draw attention to the importance of family farms .
While she notes she didn ’ t have time while working on the Coleman case to keep a diary , she saved many boxes of paper related to her work . “ Twenty years ago , I put a lot of these boxes at the state archives , believing this was an important collection of information from the 1980s farm crisis . I always thought a proper historian would want to write about it , but no historian came forward , so it came down to me . Eventually , I decided I had to write the book myself .” not expressed . To write a memoir , I had to begin to use the word ‘ I ’ and it was very uncomfortable after 50 years of being a lawyer .”
She says the impetus for writing the book was to raise awareness of the importance of family farmers and the system of family farm agriculture , and to share the stories of her brave clients who stood up for the law and constitution . “ I do hope my book will stimulate discussion of conditions facing family farmers today , and I hope the book brings attention to their problems ,” she notes .
Vogel also hopes the book draws attention to and provides support for organizations working on behalf of today ’ s family farmers , like the Farmers Legal Action Group ( FLAG ) based in Minneapolis and led by Scott Carlson , a Minot native . “ This is a nonprofit law firm doing amazing work for farmers , and it is a great resource for private practitioners representing farmers .”
The Plight of Family Farmers
Vogel has kept her law license so she can continue to serve , if needed , as local counsel for public interest litigation . She also continues to write essays on “ The Law of Hard Times ” in an online newsletter , but says she doesn ’ t have another book in the works … “ yet .”
“ Right now , I am just working on promoting the book and publicizing the plight of family farmers to lawyers , public officials , and citizens throughout the country ,” Vogel says . “ I have been amazed at the support I have received so far .”
“ The Farmer ’ s Lawyer ” was released on Nov . 2 and is available for purchase at all major booksellers and local indie booksellers . For additional information about the book and Vogel ’ s appearances and book events , visit sarahmvogel . com .
Photo by Lea Black
But working on the book had to wait until she had left her law firm in 2011 ( now known as the Braaten Law Office ) and finally wrapped up her work on the Keepseagle case in 2019 . Several years ago , she reached out to Leigh Stein , a book coach , to help her through the writing and publishing process . “ It ’ s hard work to write a book ,” she notes . “ I found my biggest challenge was overcoming the formal legal writing style where the lawyer ’ s personal views are
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