by Elizabeth | Mar 10, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Conservation Programs, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection Agency, Webinar
Posted March 10, 2014 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Watershed Academy is sponsoring a free webcast seminar on Tuesday, March 25, 2014. Details are available here. The webcast, “Improve Water Quality by Using Cover Crops and Other Conservation...
by Elizabeth | Mar 7, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
March 7, 2014 The Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference will be held on March 13-14, 2014 at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Additional information on the conference is available here. On Thursday, the conference will feature...
by Elizabeth | Mar 7, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling
Posted March 7, 2014 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reopening the comment period on its draft guidance for industry on declaring “evaporated cane juice” as an ingredient on food labels, according to an FDA Constituent Update available here. The...
by Elizabeth | Mar 7, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Cooperatives
Posted March 7, 2014 U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, recently announced the introduction of a resolution commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act, which established the Cooperative Extension...
by Elizabeth | Mar 7, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Environmental Law
Posted March 7, 2014 South Carolina may be the next state to allow alligator farms, according to an article by the Post and Courier available here. The bill, S.714, unanimously passed by the Senate’s Fish, Game, and Forestry Committee, will now move for...
by Elizabeth | Mar 6, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Biofuels, Crop Insurance, Nutrition Programs, Renewable Energy, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted March 6, 2014 Tuesday, the White House proposed almost $24 billion in discretionary spending for the U.S. Agriculture Department in its fiscal year 2015 budget proposal, $2.5 billion less than the previous year, according to an article by the Des Moines...
by Elizabeth | Mar 6, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food Labeling
Posted March 6, 2014 Important players in the food industry, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute, plan to launch a marketing campaign to promote their “Facts Up Front,” program, according to a Politico article available here. The...
by Elizabeth | Mar 6, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Crop Insurance, Disaster Assistance Programs
Posted March 6, 2014 Two potato growers in North Dakota have been indicted for allegedly conspiring to spoil their stored potato crop, for which they received close to $840,000 in crop insurance and disaster payments, according to an article by The Packer available...
by Elizabeth | Mar 5, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food Safety, Food Safety Modernization Act, Labor
March 5, 2014 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently published an interim final rule protecting workers who report violations under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), according to an article by Connie N. Bertram and Amy Blackwood...
by Elizabeth | Mar 5, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Clean Water Act, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Law
Posted March 5, 2014 Florida, Texas, Alaska and 18 other states recently filed an amicus brief on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) in its case against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) involving the Chesapeake Bay, according to an...
by Elizabeth | Mar 5, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food Labeling
Posted March 5, 2014 In Lilly v. ConAgra Foods, Inc., No. 12-55921, 2014 WL 644706, (9th Cir. Feb. 6, 2014), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals considered a case involving the sodium content labeling on sunflower seeds. The Court held that the Nutrition Labeling...
by Elizabeth | Mar 4, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Farm Bill, International Trade
Posted March 4, 2014 Apple exports to Canada are now moving at a quicker and more cost-effective pace due to a provision of the new Agriculture Act of 2014, according to a Produce News article available here. The Central New York Business Journal also reported on...
by Elizabeth | Mar 4, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted March 4, 2014 In Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association v. U.S. Department of Interior, No. 1:12-CV-01303-LJO-MJS, 2014 WL 49606, E.D. California (Feb. 6, 2014), environmental groups challenged the Department of the Interior and Bureau of...
by Elizabeth | Mar 3, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted March 3, 2014 The National Agricultural Law Center offers a wide range of resources, one of which is the Finance and Credit Reading Room available here. Typically, farmers must borrow large amounts of capital to operate and maintain their farming...
by Elizabeth | Mar 3, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Disaster Assistance Programs, Farm Bill, Rural Development, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted March 3, 2014 While California received significant rainfall last week, it was not enough to offset years of drought, according to a Reuters article available here. “Despite these recent storms, it would still have to rain every other day until around May...
by Elizabeth | Mar 3, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Country of Origin Labeling
Posted March 3, 2014 A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel is expected to issue a confidential interim report on June 20 in the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) dispute between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, according to a Wall Street Journal article...
by Elizabeth | Mar 3, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling
Posted March 3, 2014 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently proposed rules to update the Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods, according to an FDA press release, available here. An example of the proposed label is available here. “For 20 years...
by Elizabeth | Feb 28, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Farm Labor, Immigration, Labor
Posted February 28, 2014 Over 600 groups, including 154 agricultural organizations are calling on House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to act on immigration reform, according to an article by Farm Futures available here. In a letter to Speaker Boehner sent earlier...
by Elizabeth | Feb 28, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling, Food Safety
Posted February 28, 2014 Georgia State Representative Scot Turner recently introduced a bill that would allow raw milk sales in grocery stores, according to an AgWeb article available here. The full text of HB 718 is available here. Under the current law, raw...
by Elizabeth | Feb 28, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Federal Loan Programs, Finance and Credit
Posted February 28, 2014 Amid the expectation of low crop prices, some banks are worried that farm cash flows will be down this year, according to an article by the Omaha World Herald available here. “Some banks are worried about corn and bean prices and the...
