The United States Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog

Welcome to the U.S. Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog

noreply@blogger.com (jmirusdesigns) — Sun, 06 Jan 2019 16:11:00 +0000

A comprehensive news, research, and information resource for the nation’s agricultural community.

Provided as a partnership of the National Agricultural Law Center, the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information, and the American Agricultural Law Association, the only national professional organization focusing on the legal needs of the agricultural community.

Chairwoman Stabenow to Host Farm Bill Reform Teleconference

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:03:00 +0000

On Monday, June 4 at 2:15 EST, Senator Debbie Stabenow will host a press teleconference to discuss the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, commonly referred to as the 2012 Farm Bill. On April 26, 2012 the bill was adopted by the full U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and is very likely to be considered on the Senate Floor in the near future.

For call-in information for the teleconference, please RSVP to Ben Becker at Ben_Becker@ag.senate.gov.

For an excellent and comprehensive side-by-side comparison of the current Senate version of the 2012 Farm Bill and the 2008 Farm Bill published by the Congressional Research Service on May 30 ("The Senate Agriculture Committee's 2012 Farm Bill (S. 3240): A Side-by-Side Comparison with Current Law"), click here. For a full listing of the National Agricultural Law Center database of Congressional Research Service Reports on the farm bill and other food and agriculture topics, click here.

Farm Groups Seek Farm Bill in House That Differs from Senate Version

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:57:00 +0000

As the U.S. House of Representatives continues to undertake consideration of the 2012 Farm Bill, it is clear that many producer groups favor a different approach than that taken by the U.S. Senate on April 26. This reality was reported in an recent Agriculture.com article authored by Daniel Looker titled, "More Groups Back Commodity Program Choices."

The article reports that members of various farm groups "told a House Agriculture subcommittee Thursday that they support giving producers choices of commodity programs in the next farm bill, instead of the approach taken by the Senate Agriculture Committee to rely mainly on a shallow loss revenue programs."

Groups involved in the U.S. House Hearings include the National Association of Wheat Growers, the American Soybean Association, the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation, and the National Farmers Union.

Senators Call for Senate Floor Farm Bill Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:23:00 +0000

On May 15, fourty-four U.S. Senators signed and delivered a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urging an open debate on the Senate Farm Bill. The Senate Farm Bill was voted out of Committee on April 26.

For an Agri-Pulse article discussing the letter, click here. For a copy of the letter, click here.

The letter states, in part, that:

With our constant focus on job creation, we write to urge you to schedule floor consideration of the "Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012" as soon as possible. The bill takes steps to reduce the deficit and decrease government spending by $23 billion. It passed the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on April 26 with a bipartisan vote of 16 to 5. This sets an example of how Senators can come together in a bipartisan way to craft meaningful, yet fiscally responsible, policy. We believe there is strong support in the full Senate to consider the bill in a fair and open manner that allows Senators the opportunity to offer amendments.

National "Water Sustainability in Agriculture" Conference Upcoming

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:23:00 +0000

The twenty-fourth annual meeting of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council will be held in Fayetteville, Arkansas June 11-13. The focus of the meeting will be "Water Sustainability in Agriculture." The conference hosts are the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences.
The following is an excerpt from a recent Delta Farm Press article about the upcoming conference:

"Agriculture is by far the largest consumer of fresh water on the planet, and is fully dependent on a sustainable supply of quality water," said Ken Korth, conference program committee co-chair and UA professor of plant pathology.

"It is critical that agricultural researchers, food and fiber producers, and agriculture-related industries are fully aware of the many facets of their activities that impact water sustainability. These issues will be explored at the conference."

For the full Delta Farm Press article, including list of conference speakers, click here. Registration for the conference is available here.

New Article Overviews Crop Insurance Claims Process for Producers

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:34:00 +0000

Federal crop insurance has long been an important risk management tool for agricultural producers. In light of recent farm bill policy emphasis on a more robust focus on crop insurance as the cornerstone of farm policy, the National Agricultural Law Center is enhancing its provision of federal crop insurance research and information activities. Recently, the Center published the first in a series of articles, Filing a Crop Insurance Claim: An Overview for Producers.

This short article is designed to provide a brief, producer-friendly overview of key elements of the crop insurance claims process. The article is written by Grant Ballard, National Agricultural Law Center Research Consultant and private practitioner with the Banks Law Firm, PLLC.

In addition to the publication of the article series, the Center will also be providing free-of-charge webinars on various aspects of crop insurance and other related farm bill issues. Please visit the Center's Outreach page for updates on when the webinars and other Center outreach activities will occur.

For more information on federal crop insurance, visit the Center's Disaster Assistance/Crop Insurance Reading Room as well as the Center's extensive database of Congressional Research Service Reports.

American Agricultural Law Association Annual Conference Upcoming

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:34:00 +0000

The American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) will hold its 2012 Annual Agricultural Law Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee at the downtown Sheraton Hotel on October 18, 19 and 20, 2012.

Established in 1985, the AALA is the only national professional organization focusing on the legal needs of the agricultural community. Crossing traditional barriers, it offers an independent forum for investigation of innovative and workable solutions to complex agricultural law problems. This role has taken on greater importance in the midst of the current international and environmental issues, reshaping agriculture and the impending technological advances which promise equally dramatic changes.

The 2012 Annual Conference is an excellent way for students, attorneys, and other professionals to network and connect with the various emerging local, state, federal, and international issues impacting all aspects of the nation's diverse and globally connected food system. For more information, about AALA and the 2012 Annual Conference, as well as past conferences, click here.

If you are interested in becoming a member or simply learning more about AALA, please contact Robert Achenbach, AALA Executive Director at Robert@@aglaw-assn.org or by phone at (360) 200-5699.

Center Hosting Webinar, Continuing Legal Education, on Animal Confinement Laws

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:59:00 +0000

The National Agricultural Law Center is providing an online webinar titled, "Legal Issues in Animal Agriculture: Regulating Living Space." The webinar will be held on May 10, 2012 from 12-1 p.m. (Eastern). The webinar is the first in a series of National Agricultural Law Center outreach activities focused on legal issues in animal agriculture. Center Staff Attorney Elizabeth Rumley will be the speaker (see Speaker Information, below).

For full information regarding the webinar, including registration, click here.

This presentation is designed to be useful to anyone -- attorneys, lobbyists, federal and state policymakers, extension personnel, producers, and others -- with an interest in a definitive understanding of food animal confinement laws in the United States. While designed for attorneys and non-attorneys, the presentation has been approved for 60 minutes of Continuing Legal Education credit in Arkansas. Cost of the webinar is $50.

For attorneys outside of Arkansas, the National Agricultural Law Center will happily provide any needed documentation or materials necessary for a non-Arkansas attorney to obtain Continuing Legal Education in their respective state. For assistance in this regard, please contact Center Director Harrison Pittman at hmpittm@uark.edu.

The webinar will focus on the emerging legal and policy issues dealing with farm animal confinement. The presentation focuses on the status, substance, and evolution of the laws and regulations of farm animal confinement in the United States. In the last ten years, several states have adopted statutes that regulate the amount of living space required to raise certain kinds of farm animals. Controversial ballot initiatives like California's Proposition 2 have led to higher-profile compromises like last summer's HSUS/UEP agreement, among other significant developments that impact the animal agriculture industry.

The webinar is provided by the National Agricultural Law Center with support from Banks Law Firm, PLLC. In addition, the Center is partnering with eXtension to provide the webinar in conjunction with the Center's role as the lead national institution for the eXtension Agricultural Law Community of Practice.

For registration and payment, click here.

Speaker Information:

Elizabeth Rumley is a staff attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. At the Center, her primary research focus is on legal issues in animal agriculture, and she frequently lectures on those issues and others to audiences nationwide. Additionally, she has co-taught a course titled “Animals and Agricultural Production, Law and Policy” at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and will be teaching a course on legal issues in animal agriculture this summer at the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, & Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

Her article A Proposal to Regulate Farm Animal Confinement in the United States and an Overview of Current and Proposed Laws appeared in the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law (14 Drake J. Agric. L. 437 (Fall, 2009)) and she has co-written an article on the enforcement powers of humane society members that will be published this spring in the San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review.

At the Center Mrs. Rumley works closely with the University of Arkansas’ Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, Animal Science Department, and the Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Department. In addition, Mrs. Rumley works closely with and is on the advisory board of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Center for Food Animal Well-Being.

She is licensed to practice law in Michigan and Ohio after earning her B.A. from Michigan State University, her J.D. cum laude from the University of Toledo College of Law, and her LL.M. in
Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law.

Upcoming Workshop on Legal Issues in Forestry

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:26:00 +0000

The third and final workshop will be held in Monticello, Arkansas on April 13 at the Drew County Farm Bureau Building (656 Barkada Road). The April 13 workshop qualifies for Continuing Education for Foresters and Loggers.

Workshop presenters will include:

• Dr. Tamara Walkingstick, Arkansas Forest Resources Center Associate Center Director;
• Dr. Becky McPeake, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service;
• Dora Ann Hatch, State-wide Coordinator for Agritourism, LSU AgCenter;
• Rusty Rumley, Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center; and
• Elizabeth Rumley, Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center.

The workshops will be held from 9am – 4pm, with registration beginning at 8:30am. A registration fee of $20 per person/ $30 per couple will cover lunch. Payment is not due until the morning of the workshop.

For more information on any aspect of the conference or to pre-register, contact Rusty Rumley at (479) 575-2636, or via email at rrumley@uark.edu.

The workshops are conducted pursuant to a grant titled, “Managing Legal Risk for Alternative Uses of Forestland”, awarded through the Southern Risk Management Education Center.

Raw Milk Lawsuit Against FDA Rejected

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:50:00 +0000

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund’s lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett recently. The two-year old lawsuit out of Iowa challenged the rule that bans interstate shipments of unpasteurized milk by alleging that it violated constitutional rights of free travel and interferes with individuals’ decisions as to what to feed their families. Judge Bennett said that he dismissed the case because raw milk supporters have not suffered an injury as the government does not enforce the disputed regulations against individuals.

The nonprofit group that advocates the direct sale of farm goods to consumers says it has about 1,900 members from 49 states and joined forces as plaintiffs with individuals from Georgia, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Some are dairy farmers, some are consumers of raw milk products, and others run cooperatives or farmers' markets and buy the milk for sale to members. Proponents of transportation into areas where it is illegal to sell raw milk say that they prefer the flavor and freshness of raw milk as well as nutritional and health benefits. The plaintiffs are satisfied to have the FDA on record saying that it will not enforce its rule against raw milk for individuals.

The FDA discourages drinking unpasteurized milk as it may cause foodborne illness including E.coli, Salmonella, and tuberculosis. According the article, the government claims there have been 143 reported outbreaks of illness associated with drinking raw milk since 1987, which have led to miscarriages, still births, kidney failure and deaths. The FDA said 20 states have some form of prohibition on the sale of raw milk within their state while 30 allow it, according to the article.

For the full article, click here.

New Web Guide for Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:32:00 +0000

Recently, McCarron & Diess has published the PACA Web Guide to assist produce professionals with issues arising under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). The Guide is especially valuable to the public because it has been written in non-legal language and addresses all aspects of PACA.

The new website features information on how the PACA law works including the PACA trust payments, licensing, dispute resolution, definitions, and conduct that is prohibited for being unfair. The web guide also contains practical information such as how to avoid contractual issues and what to do when a company has been charged with a PACA violation.

McCarron & Diess is a law firm out of Washington D.C. that has been committed solely to produce law and representing produce companies under the PACA since 1980. The firm represents produce companies in PACA trust cases, reparation cases, disciplinary cases, appeals, misbranding, bonding, licensing, audits, responsibly connected cases and international transactions. In addition to litigation, McCarron and Diess provides consultation on legal and business matters, mediation, arbitration, and PACA education seminars.

For the FreshPlaza.com full article announcing the New PACA Guide, click here.

FDA Responds to GMO-labeling Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:58:00 +0000

March 27 was the deadline for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make its response to the Just Label It (JLI) petition urging the agency to label genetically modified foods for American consumers, but the Chicago Tribune reports that the FDA has essentially said that they have not
made a decision and will require more time to do so. Organizers, including the Center for Food
Safety, hoped for something more substantive sooner because ‘so many trading partners require labeling’ and recognize that JLI could sue for unreasonable delay if need be.

Currently there is a debate between the two groups as to the appropriate way to count petitioners. JLI believes that they have over a million supporters so far but the FDA counts only 394. To the FDA, a form letter counts as one comment; if ten thousand people were to sign the letter, it would still be only one comment. The FDA says that this is standard practice with all dockets (citizen’s petitions).

The article quote Andrew Kimbrell, an attorney with the Center for Food Safety that "This is petition has nothing to do with whether or genetically modified foods are dangerous. We don't label dangerous foods, we take them off the shelves. This petition is about a the citizens' right to know what they are eating and whether or not these foods represent a novel change."

According to the article, organizers have presented the results of a Mellman Group poll showing that 91 percent of Americans polled favored labeling, and that eighty-one percent of those polled strongly favored it.

For the full article, click here. For more information about the JLI campaign, click here. For more information regarding the agricultural biotechnology, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center Biotechnology Reading Room as well as the Center's online database of Congressional Research Service Reports on Biotechnology.
.

Upcoming March 16 Workshop for Foresters and Loggers

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:15:00 +0000

The National Agricultural Law Center, along with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service and the LSU AgCenter are hosting a series of three workshops dealing with legal, marketing, and business issues that affect forest landowners. Topics discussed at the conference will include wildlife management, insurance, leasing contracts, landowner liability, and agritourism.

The next workshop will be held in Shreveport, Louisiana on Friday, March 16, 2012. The third and final workshop will be held in Monticello, Arkansas on April 13.

The March 16 workshop qualifies for Continuing Education for Foresters and Loggers.

Workshop presenters will include:

• Dr. Tamara Walkingstick, Arkansas Forest Resources Center Associate Center
Director;
• Dr. Becky McPeake, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Arkansas
Cooperative Extension Service;
• Dora Ann Hatch, State-wide Coordinator for Agritourism, LSU AgCenter;
• Rusty Rumley, Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center; and
• Elizabeth Rumley, Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center.
The workshops will be held from 9am – 4pm, with registration beginning at 8:30am. A registration fee of $20 per person/ $30 per couple will cover lunch. Payment is not due until the morning of the
workshop.

For more information on any aspect of the conference or to pre-register, contact Rusty Rumley at (479) 575-2636, or via email at rrumley@uark.edu.

The workshops are conducted pursuant to a grant titled, “Managing Legal Risk for Alternative Uses of Forestland”, awarded through the Southern Risk Management Education Center.

Russia to Ban Cattle Imports from EU States

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:34:00 +0000

Recent news accounts have reported that beginning March 20, Russia will ban cattle imports from throughout the European Union. The move is in response to concerns over the spread of the Schmallenberg and Bluetongue viruses. According to a recent article, the action is a result of “a failure by the EU sanitary agencies to provide . . . information about the epidemic, countermeasures, and antidote researches.”

Russia's National Meat Association head, Sergei Yushin, said that Russia is applying the basic precautions of the World Trade Organization as if Russia was a full member of the WTO in order to “eliminate any risks because there can be risks.”

The Schmallenberg virus is an infection spread by blood-sucking insects that causes fever, gastrointestinal disorder, a sharp drop of milk production and miscarriages. Bluetongue is also an insect-borne disease mainly found in sheep, which causes excessive salivation, swelling of the face and tongue and cyanosis of the tongue.

For the full article, click here.

Food and Drug Adminstration Set to Issue Ruling on BPA in Food and Beverages

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:28:00 +0000

A recent article from CBS News reports that Bisphenol-A -- BPA -- may be on its way out of the food supply. The Food and Drug Administration is set to issue a ruling by March 31, 2012 on the use of BPA in food and beverage packaging. BPA is at issue largely as a result of a lawsuit and petition filed in 2008 by the National Research Defense Council.

According to the article, a researchers from the Breast Cancer Fund reported that many kid-friendly canned foods contained BPA, which, “mimics estrogen and has been linked in studies to increased breast cancer risk.” The article further reported that other studies have also linked BPA to anxiety, hyperactivity, and individuals with heart disease. France has already moved to ban BPA in all food packaging and Canada has declared BPA a toxin, both of which implicate food trade issues associated with U.S. exports.

Anthony Sanzio, spokesperson for Campbell’s Soup is quoted in the article as stating that, "The overwhelming weight of scientific evidence shows that the use of BPA in can lining poses no threat to human health. That being said, we understand that consumers may have concerns about it. We’re very aware of the debate and we’re watching it intently."Campbell’s Soup has recently announced that they would be moving towards BPA free cans.

For the full article, click here. For more information from the FDA on BPA, click here.

Premiums on Organic Chicken Breasts

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Consumers are still willing to buy organic meat despite its higher price. A recent article out of Fayetteville, Arkansas reported that consumers are willing to pay a premium for organic meat, but that the type of organic label controls their willingness to pay. The article was based on a study done out of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Center for Food Safety. The author of the study’s published results, Ellen Van Loo, says that "willingness-to-pay estimates can also provide insights on how consumers value the organic attribute in meat products and can be used as input in analyzing the marketability of the products."

In the study, consumers were hypothetically surveyed (Van Loo would like to research further with real market data later) as to their willing to pay premiums for chicken breasts. “The surveys found that consumers would be willing to spend a 35 percent premium for a general organic labeled chicken breast and would pay a 104 percent premium for a USDA-certified organic labeled chicken breast.”

The study broke down the consumers based on the frequency in which they purchased organic products. Consumers who traditionally did not shop organic were unwilling to pay the premium. Consumers who occasionally bought organic “would pay a 35.7 percent premium for a general organic labeled chicken breast and a 97.3 percent premium for USDA-certified chicken breast.” The most frequent buyers though “would pay a 146 percent premium for a general organic labeled chicken breast and 244.3 percent premium for USDA-certified chicken breast.”

For a similar article from the USDA on produce, click here. For more information on the National Organic Program and more resources from the National Agricultural Law Center, click here.

United Egg Producers Proposes Change to Farm Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:39:00 +0000

United Egg Producers (UEP) President and CEO, Gene Gregory, advocates an amendment to
the current Farm Bill. The amendment, Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012 (H.R. 3798), reasons that eggs are a commodity and hopes to accommodate producers who move eggs across state lines for big companies such as Wal-Mart by giving national uniformity to shipping rules such as cage size. There is concern though that regional producers may face higher costs as a result.

Gregory believes that federal intervention is warranted even though it would be the first time that “Congress would set specific size standards for a livestock enterprise.” Gregory believes that state by state legislation to resolve the issue is illogical because the industry does not have “that kind of money to fight all of those lawsuits.”

UEP has negotiated the finer details of the amendment with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The UEP initially wanted a cage size of 90 square inches and HSUS wanted cage free, but they have compromised at 124 square inches. The housing systems will also be enriched” with “scratch pads, perching, and other amenities.” Gregory believes that Congress will be receptive to this figure given that it was negotiated with HSUS. HSUS president, Wayne Pacelle, also defends the amendment as a “positive change.”

For the full article, click here. For an article responding to the view of regional producers, click here. For more information about animal welfare laws, click here.

Upcoming Webinars on Legal Issues in Recreational Land Use

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:30:00 +0000

On Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. (Central) a free, producer-oriented webinar will be offered that focuses on landowner liability issues associated with the recreational use of land. The webinar is part of a multi-workshop series of online workshops conducted under the Southern Risk Management Education Center project titled “Using Alternative Enterprises and Recreational Development to Bolster Farm Incomes.” The workshops are conducted under the leadership of the Natural Resource Enterprises Program at Mississippi State University in partnership with the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

In addition, other partners are Auburn University, Clemson University, and the the University of Tennessee.

The March 1 workshop will overview the basics of premises liability issues as well as address the application of recreational use statutes and the agritourism liability laws. The next webinar, which will address business organization issues, will be held on March 8 at 11:30 a.m.

The broadcast will begin at 11:30 a.m. (Central). To join the webinar, simply click on the following link and follow the user-friendly instructions, http://msues.adobeconnect.com/wildlife.

It is recommended that participants sign on 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the webinar.

Upcoming Forestry Workshops

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:28:00 +0000

The National Agricultural Law Center, along with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and the LSU AgCenter are hosting a series of three workshops dealing with legal, marketing, and business issues that affect forest landowners. Topics discussed at the conference will include wildlife management, insurance, leasing contracts, landowner liability, and agritourism.

The first workshop is February 24th in Hope, Arkansas at the Southwest Research & Extension Center. The second workshop will be March 16th in Shreveport, Louisiana. The third and final Workshop will occur on April 13th in Monticello, AR.

Workshop presenters will include:

• Dr. Tamara Walkingstick, Arkansas Forest Resources Center Associate Center Director;
• Dr. Becky McPeake, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service;
• Dora Ann Hatch, State-wide Coordinator for Agritourism, LSU AgCenter;
• Rusty Rumley, Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center; and
• Elizabeth Rumley, Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center.

The workshops will be held from 9am – 4pm, with registration beginning at 8:30am. A registration fee of $20 per person/ $30 per couple will cover lunch and will not be due until the morning of the workshop. For more information on any aspect of the conference or to pre-register, contact Rusty Rumley at (479) 575-2636, or via email at rrumley@uark.edu.

The workshops are conducted pursuant to a grant titled, “Managing Legal Risk for Alternative Uses of Forestland”, awarded through the Southern Risk Management Education Center.

Department of Labor To Re-Propose Child Farmworker Rules

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:49:00 +0000

Agri-Pulse reports that Department of Labor will “re-propose the parental exception” of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. For full Agri-Pulse story, click here. According to the article, “[m]embers of Congress, farm owners, and other agricultural representatives” have raised concerns about the proposed rules for children working on farms owned by their parents.

Child safety while handling farm equipment is the main argument from supporters of the proposal. However, the article reports concerns raised by a representative of National Future Farmers of America that “[t]he proposed rules would severely limit or eliminate opportunities to participate in the experiential learning aspects of our program.” Currently, students in vocational training are exempt from labor standards, but the proposed rules would limit children less than 16 years of age.

The article also reported that “While I am pleased by the DOL’s announcement . . . that it was going to resubmit the parental exemption portion of the NPRM, other provisions of this rule will make it difficult, if not impossible, for youths interested in agriculture to access comprehensive on-farm education and employment opportunities,” said Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade Chairman Scott Tipton (R-Colo.). “Farming is a profession learned by doing and there is no substitute for actual on-farm or ranch experience.”

According to the Agri-Pulse article, [r]epresentatives from the Labor Department argue that the rules are a long overdue attempt to modernize rules last updated in the 1970’s. When the new regulations were first proposed last fall, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis described children working in agriculture as “some of the most vulnerable workers in America.”

For more information about federal and state laws, regulations, and policy about agricultural labor, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center Agricultural Labor Reading Room. Also, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center online, free-of-charge database of agricultural and food Congressional Research Service Reports, specifically including the Farm Labor reports.

FDA: Illegal Fungicide in Orange Juice Samples

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:29:00 +0000

The Associated Press announced that the FDA has confirmed the presence of an illegal fungicide in domestic orange juice samples, but that the juice remains safe to drink. “The FDA said that nine of 14 samples taken from large holding tanks of juice in Florida tested positive at up to 36 parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency has said studies show no risks of consuming the chemical at up to 80 parts per billion and true levels of danger are probably thousands of times higher.”

The use of carbendazim is illegal in the U.S., but “the juice tested was mixed with product from Brazil, where the fungicide carbendazim is used” to combat mold on orange trees. “Though the EPA says the juice is safe, the FDA is still detaining any orange juice imports that contain the chemical at more than 10 parts per billion, which is the lowest detectable level. The agency has detained almost a quarter of 86 orange juice shipments at the border since the first of the year, hoping to phase the carbendazim out of the U.S. supply.”

“The government started testing for the chemical after Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, which owns juice brands Minute Maid and Simply Orange, reported finding the chemical in its own juice and in competing juices late last year. Most orange juice products made by Coke and other companies contain a blend of juice from different sources, including Brazil, which is the world's
largest orange producer.”

Gates Foundation Calls for More Ag Research Funding

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:56:00 +0000

Western Farm Press reports that, in the annual priorities outlined by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates expressed interest in the lack of funding for agricultural research and innovation. The Foundation was concerned with projected increase in world population and the lack of prioritization that is being given to research.

The Foundation will be contributing $2 billion to agricultural research. Of particular interest to Gates is research on Ug99, a stem rust that devastates wheat crops and is a threat to the most populous parts of the world. Of the $3 billion a year spent on researching the seven most important crops (one of which is wheat), “$1.5 billion comes from countries’ public funds, $1.2 billion from private companies and $300 million from international research organization CGIAR.”

The decrease in funding for agricultural research “is a particular worry for the wheat industry, which is disproportionally dependent on public-sector research dollars that have decreased in recent years because of squeezed state and federal budgets.”

GIPSA Releases Final Rule

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:46:00 +0000

Today, the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) released the final version of the rules they first proposed last summer. The proposed rule is available here, while the final rule is available here. A discussion about the provisions that were left out of the final rule is available here.

For the provisions that were left out, USDA-GIPSA originally planned

to seek additional public comment on several other revised provisions from the June 22, 2010 proposed rule including changes to the tournament system of payment for poultry growers, requirements to collect and post sample contracts and to address the issue of need for producers to show harm to competition prior to asserting a violation of the Packer and Stockyards Act. However, the FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill passed by Congress included language prohibiting the Department from moving forward on these important provisions.

GIPSA Press Release

The final rule will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register (it is scheduled to be published on 12/9/11).

During the comment period last year, the National Agricultural Law Center presented a series of workshops for producers that discussed the proposed rules. To access the handouts and powerpoint from those workshops, please click here

Recall Expanded - Frozen Oysters Imported from Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:17:00 +0000

According to a FDA press release, "FDA is expanding its warning to include additional frozen oyster products from Korea. These products have been linked to norovirus cases in Washington state. In a November 4, 2011 release FDA notified the public of the recall of one lot, C-110223, packed by Central Fisheries Co. Ltd."

For more information, click here.

Posted 11/25/2011

GIPSA Settle Cases Resulting in $17,160 in Civil Penalties

noreply@blogger.com (Ag and Food Law Blog) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 02:56:00 +0000

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) announced settlements resulting in $17,160 in civil penalties.

AMVC Management Services, LLC, Audubon, Iowa - agreed to pay a penalty of $4,000 after GIPSA found that in their swine production contracts they did not disclose the grower's right to cancel the contract, including the method and dealing for cancellation, and contain an "Addition Capital Investments Disclosure Statement."

Oak Lake Cattle Co., Inc., I.E. Bryd, President, Okeechobee, Fla. - agreed to pay a penalty of $825 after GIPSA found that they failed to timely pay, when due, for livestock purchases.

Barney M. Gibson, Statesville, N.C. - agreed to pay a penalty of $2,585 after GIPSA found that he failed to timely pay, when due, for livestock purchases.

Shannon Davis, Winnsboro Livestock Commission, Inc., dba Winnsboro Livestock & Dairy Auction, Winnsboro, Texas - agreed to pay a penalty of $2,000 after GIPSA found that they operated as a market agency selling livestock on commission with shortages in the market's Custodial Account for Shippers Proceeds on two occasions in April of 2010.

Randall Reynolds, dba Geneva-Berne Salebarn, Geneva, Ind. - agreed to pay a penalty of $2,500 after GIPSA found that he charged a per head fee and changed the price per pound when buying cattle on a carcass basis.

Holden Farms, Inc., New Ulm, Minn. - agreed to pay a penalty of $2,500 after GIPSA found that they failed to comply with contractual requirements.

Randy R. Wientjes, dba Brookport Cattle Co., Metropolis, Ill. - agreed to pay a penalty of $2,000 after GIPSA found that he failed to pay, when due, for livestock purchases on 14 occasions and failed to maintain all sales invoices and adequate records to trace livestock from purchase to sale.

Decker's Livestock, Inc., Milford, Ill. - agreed to pay a penalty of $750 after GIPSA found that they used unfair and captive tariff practices.

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Posted 11/25/2010