by Elizabeth | Jan 30, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Clean Water Act, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Law
Posted January 30, 2014 The American Farm Bureau Federation recently asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to reverse a September 2013 ruling which upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) total maximum daily load for the Chesapeake...
by Elizabeth | Jan 29, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 29, 2014 After a three-year process of debate and compromise, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the $956 billion farm bill this morning. The farm bill Conference Report and Summary are available here. The House approved the Conference Report...
by Elizabeth | Jan 29, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Farm Labor, Grain Standards Act (GSA), Labor
Posted January 29, 2014 U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer (R-ND) recently responded to reports of excessive fines on small farming operations by urging U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez to stop the action by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration...
by Elizabeth | Jan 29, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Biotechnology, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling
Posted January 29, 2014 Monsanto shareholders considered two proposals related to genetically modified (GMO) foods at their annual meeting on Tuesday, according to an article by the St. Louis Business Journal available here. The proposals came from two...
by Elizabeth | Jan 29, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 29, 2014 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published a final rule for the Paper and Paper-based Packaging Promotion program. The final rule is available here. The rule establishes a research, promotion, and information program for...
by Elizabeth | Jan 28, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Estate Planning, Taxation
Posted January 28, 2014 A bill introduced in the Nebraska legislature would exempt agricultural repair and replacement parts from Nebraska’s sales tax, according to an Associated Press story available here. The bill, LB96, was introduced by state Sen. Annette...
by Elizabeth | Jan 28, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Animal Feeding Operations, Biosecurity, Food Safety, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted January 28, 2014 A virus already responsible for killing about one million piglets in the United States has been reported in Canada, according to an article by the Canadian Press available here. The PEDV (porcine epidemic diarrhea virus) was discovered in a...
by Elizabeth | Jan 28, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling
Posted January 28, 2014 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will revise nutrition label standards, according to an article by the Washington Post available here. The FDA says that knowledge about nutrition has evolved over the last 20 years, and the labels...
by Elizabeth | Jan 27, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Country of Origin Labeling, Farm Bill, Food Labeling, Nutrition Programs
Posted January 27, 2014 This evening, negotiators from the U.S. House and Senate announced a bipartisan agreement on a five-year farm bill and released the conference report, according to a press release from the House Agriculture Committee available here. The...
by Elizabeth | Jan 27, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Country of Origin Labeling
Posted January 27, 2014 The World Trade Organization (WTO) has announced that a public hearing of the U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule is set for February 18-19 in Geneva, according to an article by Meat & Poultry available here. Canada asked the...
by Elizabeth | Jan 27, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 27, 2014 The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) recently voiced its opposition to changes in the payment limitation reforms in the farm bill, according to an Agri-Pulse article available here. Ferd Hoefner, NSAC policy director,...
by Elizabeth | Jan 27, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Crop Insurance, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted January 27, 2014 In Jagers v. Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, No. 12-1342, 2014 WL 114508 (10th Cir. Jan. 14, 2014), the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, held that the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) did not act arbitrarily and capriciously in...
by Elizabeth | Jan 24, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 24, 2014 The National Agricultural Law Center offers a wide range of resources, one of which is the Conservation Programs Reading Room available here. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and...
by Elizabeth | Jan 24, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food Labeling
Posted January 24, 2014 The United States Supreme Court has granted cert. in a food labeling case, Pom Wonderful, LLC v. Coca-Cola, according to an article by Food Product Design available here. The petition for writ of certiorari is available here. The appeal...
by Elizabeth | Jan 24, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Biotechnology, Food Labeling
Posted January 24, 2014 A bill recently introduced in the Florida legislature would impose labeling requirements for genetically engineered (GE) foods, according to an article by the North Escambia News available here. The text of the bill is available here. ...
by Elizabeth | Jan 24, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Farm Bill, Hemp
Posted January 24, 2014 An amendment to the farm bill may allow for industrial hemp production, according to an article by KY Forward available here. An amendment in the House version of the bill, H.R. 2642, could make industrial hemp production legal. Kentucky...
by Elizabeth | Jan 23, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Clean Water Act, Environmental Law, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Law
Posted January 23, 2014 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to review a district court ruling in favor of a West Virginia poultry farmer, according to a Bloomberg BNA article available here. Farm...
by Elizabeth | Jan 23, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Food and Drug Administration, Food Labeling, United States Department of Agriculture
Posted January 23, 2014 A new report from the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) shows that American adults are choosing healthier foods, using available nutrition information, consuming fewer calories from fat and saturated fat, consuming less cholesterol and...
by Elizabeth | Jan 23, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Biosecurity, Food Safety
Posted January 23, 2014 German officials have identified one case of bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE), also known as “Mad Cow Disease”, according to a Food Safety News article available here. This is the first reported case in Germany since 2009. While the...
by Elizabeth | Jan 22, 2014 | Ag & Food Law Update
Posted January 22, 2014 USDA has filed an administrative action under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) against a Florida company, Big Bear Storage and Packing Inc. The USDA press release is available here. The Packer also reported on the story...
