by Elizabeth | Nov 11, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
The Risk Management Agency announced that the next sales date for LGM is November 18, 2011. According to a USDA press release, “approximately $7 million in underwriting capacity is allocated to support LGM for Dairy Cattle for the Nov. 18 sales period....
by Elizabeth | Nov 11, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update, Disaster Assistance Programs, Farm Service Agency, United States Department of Agriculture
Yesterday, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Bruce Nelson announced that USDA is accepting comments on a proposed rule to streamline the process for its Secretarial Disaster Designation, allowing farmers and ranchers...
by Elizabeth | Nov 10, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently accepting public comments on a proposed new rule which could increase the amount of information owners of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) report. The rule was published in the Federal...
by Elizabeth | Nov 10, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
Yesterday, Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of 35 rural microdevelopment organizations for loans and grants to support rural business development, create jobs, and strengthen local communities. Vilsack stated that, “A strong...
by Elizabeth | Nov 10, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
Today, in a press release, Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement after USDA released its final tally for agricultural exports in fiscal year 2011: “Thanks to the productivity of America’s farmer, ranchers and producers, the...
by Elizabeth | Nov 10, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
The Obama administration has decided to delay implementation of the fee that would have allowed the Christmas tree industry to create a promotional campaign to encourage people to buy fresh-cut pine trees. White House Assistant Press Secretary Matt Lehrich,...
by Elizabeth | Nov 10, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied two citizen petitions that asked the Agency to ban certain uses of antibiotics in food animals. The petitions, filed in 1999 and 2005, urge the FDA to withdraw the approvals for antibiotics given to animals...
by Elizabeth | Nov 9, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
The George Washington University Seminar on Food will take place November 21, 2011. The seminar will address the market concentration of meat packing. Discussion Featuring: 1) Mark Halverson, Staff Director, U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee 2)...
by Elizabeth | Nov 9, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
This week, a federal appeals court panel ruled that irrigators along Nebraska’s Niobrara River did not have their property rights violated when the state ordered them to shut off their pumps in 2007. In an opinion, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S....
by Elizabeth | Nov 9, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service released a report titled, “The Renewable Identification Number System and U.S. Biofuel Mandates.” According to the press release, the report, “provides an overview...
by Elizabeth | Nov 8, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran is voicing concern with USDA’s plan to conduct an animal welfare scientific forum. Moran stated that, “The ironic thing about this forum is that there is little science involved. It is nothing more than – in my...
by Elizabeth | Nov 7, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
There are some reports in Washington that USDA officials are sending a modified version of the GIPSA rule to the Office of Management and Budget. According to a report from Hoosier Ag Today, “Speculation is that USDA would strip out the controversial...
by Elizabeth | Nov 6, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
The American Soybean Association (ASA) has sent letters to key members of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee (EPW) and the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee to reiterate its tops transportation and infrastructure priorities...
by Elizabeth | Nov 6, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk will co-chair the 22nd session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan on November 20-21, in Chengdu, China. U.S. Secretary of...
by Elizabeth | Nov 4, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Bruce Nelson announced that the 2011 FSA county committee elections will begin today with USDA mailing ballots to eligible voters. The deadline to return the ballots...
by Elizabeth | Nov 4, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
Yesterday, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power approved bipartisan legislation to provide much-needed certainty and regulation relief to America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural businesses. H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act,...
by Elizabeth | Nov 3, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update, Clean Water Act, Environmental Protection Agency
This week, Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson discussed the burdens facing states, rural communities, and agricultural producers from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. ...
by Elizabeth | Nov 3, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update, Department of Labor, Fair Labor Standards Act, Farm Labor, Labor
Yesterday, in a press release U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) responded to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) 30-day extension of public comment period on the proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to the press release,...
by Elizabeth | Nov 2, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
This Thursday and Friday, November 3-4, the members of the USDA Minority Farmer Advisory Committee will meet for the second time to finalize recommendations on increasing minority participation in Department programs and services. Members will focus on supporting USDA...
by Elizabeth | Nov 2, 2011 | Ag & Food Law Update
Yesterday, a World Bank new release stated that, “Global food prices remain high and volatile, hitting the poorest countries hardest and adding to the strains facing the global economy, according to the World Bank Group’s new Food Price Watch released...
