by Elizabeth | Feb 12, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, will convene a Committee hearing on Thursday, February 14 at 9:30 (EST). The hearing will be held in Room 328 of the Russell Senate Office Building. ...
by Elizabeth | Feb 12, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Country of Origin Labeling, International Trade, Labor, National Organic Program
A Washington State University research pilot study examined whether or not consumers are willing to pay extra for organic cotton apparel. Western Farm Press reported, “As consumers become increasingly conscious of how their purchases influence labor practices...
by Elizabeth | Feb 10, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Recently, the United States Department of Agriculture released the January inventory numbers for cattle. According to the report, “All the cattle and calves in the United States, as of January 1, totaled 89.3 million head.” This is the lowest January 1 cattle and...
by Elizabeth | Jan 22, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Farmers Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG) and the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC) are assisting in the development of a legal assistance network of attorneys to assist claimants in the completion of the official Claims Form for the USDA Hispanic and Women...
by Elizabeth | Jan 22, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Farm Bill
On the first day of the 113th Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) reintroduced the version of the Farm Bill the Senate passed on June 21, 2012, S. 3240. Full text of S.3240 available here. For an Agri-Pulse news item on this important development,...
by Elizabeth | Jan 17, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
USA Rice Daily reports that House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, Republican of Oklahoma, has affirmed in a written statement that direct payments would remain for the 2013 crop year under the recent extension of the 2008 Farm Bill. According to the...
by Elizabeth | Jan 17, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Continuing Education, Food Labeling, Webinar
On Thursday, February 21 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 EST, Steptoe & Johnson LLP is sponsoring a complimentary webinar titled Food Labeling: What You Can Say, What You Must Say, and How to Defend It. Panelists will include: Jason Levin, Partner, Los Angeles Ralph...
by Elizabeth | Jan 17, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
The Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) at the Vermont Law School is inviting eligible candidates to apply for a two-year Fellow position from August 2013 through July 2015. The fellowship combines the opportunity to obtain an LLM degree in Environmental...
by Elizabeth | Jan 16, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Crop Insurance
Reuters reports that federal crop insurance payments to U.S. producers for 2012 have hit a new record. According to the article, payments for 2012 total $11.6 billion and could grow even higher. The high amount in crop insurance payments are due in large measure to...
by Elizabeth | Jan 15, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Farmers Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG) and the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC) are assisting in the development of a legal assistance network of attorneys to assist claimants in the completion of the official Claims Form for the USDA Hispanic and Women...
by Elizabeth | Jan 15, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update
Tom Vilsack will remain as USDA Secretary during President Obama’s second term. According to a Bloomberg article, full text here, it was reported that: In a speech today to an American Farm Bureau Federation conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Vilsack said...
by Elizabeth | Jan 7, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Continuing Education, Crop Insurance, Environmental Law, Farm Bill, Leases
The National Agricultural Law Center will host a producer meeting at the Northeast Research and Extension Center in Keiser, Arkansas on February 5, 2013to discuss laws and regulations important to row crop producers. The meeting will focus on recent farm bill...
by Elizabeth | Jan 7, 2013 | Ag & Food Law Update, Continuing Education, Crop Insurance, Environmental Law, Farm Bill, Leases
The National Agricultural Law Center will host a producer meeting in Rohwer, Arkansas on January 31 to discuss laws and regulations important to row crop producers. The meeting will focus on recent farm bill developments, practical legal aspects of federal crop...
by Elizabeth | Dec 3, 2012 | Ag & Food Law Update, Biosecurity, Food and Drug Administration, Food Safety, United States Department of Agriculture
Consumer Reports, the policy and action arm of Consumers Union, recently tested and analyzed 148 pork chop and 50 ground pork samples in six U.S. cities, and claim to have found significant rates of yersinia enterocolitica, a bacterium linked to food poisoning. ...
by Elizabeth | Nov 28, 2012 | Ag & Food Law Update
With current tax relief expected to expire the end of this year, agriculture groups have been requesting that the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate permanently relieve farmers and ranchers of the estate tax. Some of the groups encouraging the change...
by Elizabeth | Nov 26, 2012 | Ag & Food Law Update
Farmers Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG) and the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC) are assisting in the development of a legal assistance network of attorneys to assist claimants in the completion of the official Claims Form for the USDA Hispanic...
by Elizabeth | Oct 26, 2012 | Ag & Food Law Update, Crop Insurance, Environmental Law, Farm Bill, Leases
The National Agricultural Law Center will host a meeting in Clarksdale, Mississippi on November 1 from 10-12, followed by a lunch catered by the Dutch Oven. There is no charge for meeting or lunch, although an RSVP is requested but required by October 29 for lunch...
by Elizabeth | Oct 12, 2012 | Ag & Food Law Update, Continuing Education, Crop Insurance, Environmental Law, Farm Bill, Leases
The National Agricultural Law Center will host a producer meeting in Stuttgart, Arkansas on November 6. The presentations will begin at 10 a.m. and will run through 12 p.m. A lunch catered by King Kat Catering will be provided following the meeting for...
by Elizabeth | Oct 10, 2012 | Ag & Food Law Update
On October 16, 2012, from 1 p.m. – 3:45 (EST) a free training session by live webcast will be held for attorneys interested in assisting claimants in the USDA Hispanic and Women Farmers and Ranchers Claims Process (HWFRCP). The training is intended for attorneys...
by Elizabeth | Oct 9, 2012 | Ag & Food Law Update, Crop Insurance
While farmers and others are likely familiar with federal crop insurance, many are not as familiar with the arbitration requirement that appears under the Common Crop Insurance Policy or the arbitration process. Crop insurance has long been an important component of...
