October 3, 2024

Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 3, 2024

Dairy Policy/International Trade: Colombia Imposes 4.86% Tariff on U.S. Milk Powder Imports  🌾
On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) published a trade policy monitoring report stating that Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MINCIT) had “imposed a provisional duty of 4.86 percent on U.S. milk powder imports for up to four months.” Prior to this action, FAS states that “U.S. milk powder exports enter Colombia under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement through a duty-free tariff rate quota, which increases annually.” According to the FAS report, on July 4, 2024, MINCIT issued Resolution 192 of 2024 (English translation) initiating a countervailing duty investigation into U.S. milk powder imports and, on September 17, 2024, issued Resolution 271 of 2024 (English translation) announcing the duty. According to the September resolution, MINCIT’s investigation “provided sufficient indications to establish (i) the existence of subsidies for the production of liquid milk in the United States, (ii) the existence of damage to the domestic raw milk production sector resulting from a significant increase in subsidized imports and a relevant undervaluation of domestic raw milk prices, and (iii) a causal link between these two elements.” According to the FAS report, “Colombia’s dairy industry is primarily centered on fluid milk production and relies significantly on imported milk powder for food manufacturing” and “the United States accounts for more than 50 percent of Colombia’s milk powder imports.”

Avian Influenza/International Trade: Columbia Reopens Market for Beef Imports from Nine U.S. States
On September 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) updated its export requirements for the country of Columbia. Under the updated requirements, Columbia has lifted restrictions on fresh and frozen beef imports from nine U.S. states which had confirmed Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Detections in Livestock. The update means that Columbia will now accept imports of fresh and frozen beef products from the named states again. The import restrictions were put in place on April 29, 2024, and the following states were ineligible: Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Colorado. See also ALWR—May 10, 2024, “Columbia Prohibits Beef Imports from Nine U.S. States.”

Agricultural Labor: Maryland Heat Stress Standards Effective September 30, 2024
On September 30, 2024, Maryland’s regulatory heat stress standards became effective (COMAR 09.12.32). Previously adopted on September 20, 2024, the regulation requires “employer[s] with employees whose employment activities, indoor or outdoor, expose employees to a heat index . . . that equals or exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit” to maintain a written “heat-related illness prevention and management plan,” including how the employer will implement “[p]rocedures for heat acclimatization” and provide employees with “sufficient time and space to rest in shaded or cool, climate-controlled areas.” According to the regulations, employers must “[m]ake available at least 32 ounces of drinking water per hour to each exposed employee per work day” “as close to the work area as practicable” “at no cost to exposed employees” and “implement high-heat procedures when the heat index reaches or exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the area where the work is being performed.”

Agricultural Labor: Two More Suits Filed Against ‘Improving Protections for Temporary Ag Workers’ Rule
On September 13, 2024, the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina seeking injunction and vacatur of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) April 2024 rule, “Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States” (89 FR 33898). North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, Inc. v. United States Department of Labor, No. 5:24-cv-00527. Additionally, on September 16, 2024, several producers and the National Agricultural Employers Association (NCAE)—whose “members employ H-2A workers in every State except Alaska”—filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky also seeking injunction and vacatur of the rule. Barton et al v. United States Department of Labor et al, Docket No. 5:24-cv-00249. Previously, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia enjoined the rule in seventeen states: Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. See also ALWR—Sept. 10, 2024, “Federal Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Against New H-2A Protections Rule.”  

Antitrust: Federal Court Dismisses Crop Inputs Antitrust Suit
On September 13, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued an order dismissing a 2021 class action lawsuit alleging that several “Crop Input” suppliers—including Bayer, BASF, Corteva, Pioneer, Syngenta, Cargill, Tenkoz, Univar, CHS, GROWMARK, Nutrien Ag Solutions, and Simplot—conspired to inflate the prices of “seeds and crop protection chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides.” In Re: Crop Inputs Antitrust Litigation, No. 4:21-cv-00657. The complaint alleged that the defendant companies boycotted online sales platforms, such as Farmers Business Network, “because of the threat that they posed to [the companies’] market position, power and price control.” However, the court found that the plaintiffs, direct and indirect purchasers of Crop Inputs, “failed in their attempt to weave dissimilar events involving only a handful of explicitly identified Defendants at different levels of the distribution chain into a coherent and actionable conspiracy.” The court determined that the companies engaged in actions that “served their respective individual, legitimate business interests to maintain a profitable market structure.” See also the Center’s Agricultural Antitrust Litigation Issue Tracker. 

Regulatory Policy: Inspector General Finds EPA Retaliated Against Scientists Who ‘Expressed Differing Scientific Opinions’
On September 17, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a whistleblower investigation report finding that, in 2019 and 2020, EPA officials retaliated against three agency scientists for “expressing differing scientific opinions” regarding their hazard assessments of new chemicals. According to the report, EPA unduly lowered performance ratings, reassigned, and failed to properly promote the scientists, who OIG found had “engaged in protected activities” under EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy and the Whistleblower Protection Act. The report recommends that the “EPA administrator take appropriate corrective action” and states that if the OIG “determines that a supervisor committed a prohibited personnel practice under the Whistleblower Protection Act, the head of the agency . . . shall propose suspending the supervisor for a period that is not less than three days.” See also ALWR—May 28, 2021, “EPA Inspector General Issues Report Uncovering Irregularities in 2018 Dicamba Registration Decision.”

Dairy Policy: USDA Announces $58 Million for 2024 Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program
On September 30, 2024, the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) published in the Federal Register a notice (89 FR 79505) announcing the availability of $58 million for the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP), which provides a lump-sum payment to eligible certified organic operations “based on marketing costs on pounds of organic milk marketed in the 2023 calendar year or estimated 2024 marketing costs.” Also announced by FSA, the agency states that “ODMAP 2024 provides for an increase in the payment rate to $1.68 per hundredweight (cwt) compared to the previous $1.10 per cwt,” and increases “the production level eligible for marketing cost-share assistance . . . to nine million pounds compared to the previous five million pounds.” FSA will accept ODMAP applications from September 30, 2024, through November 29, 2024.

 

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CENTER PROGRAMS & RESOURCES

Understanding Agricultural Law Series. A free monthly Zoom webinar series for agricultural and rural business advisors. One hour of substantive CLE credit available for Pennsylvania-licensed attorneys at no charge. All events on Fridays, noon–1 pm (ET). Upcoming:

Dairy Quarterly Legal Webinar Series. A free quarterly Zoom webinar series covering dairy industry legal and regulatory developments with an in-depth focus topic. One hour of substantive CLE credit available for Pennsylvania-licensed attorneys at no charge. All events on Tuesdays, noon–1 pm (ET). Upcoming:

Navigating Employment Regulations on the Farm, Center Staff Attorney Brook Duer with Penn State Extension. A producer-focused review of laws and regulations governing farm employment (No attorney CLE).

  • Oct. 28, 2024, 1:00–2:30pm (ET)

Podcasts:

Farmland Legal Energy Podcast

Introduction to Precision Agriculture

An Overview of Critical Minerals

Commercial Energy Payments on Farmland

Resources of Interest:

Lancaster Farming, Pennsylvania, Maryland Seek Tighter Rules for Spreading Food Processing Waste, Brook Duer, Center for Agricultural and Shale Law (Sep. 20, 2024)

Nat’l Agric. Law Ctr., When Wetlands Go Dry: Prior Converted Cropland under Swampbuster and the CWA, Brigit Rollins (Sep. 19, 2024)

Southern Ag Today, Cell Cultured Meat, Emily Stone, National Agricultural Law Center (Sep. 13, 2024)

Nat’l Agric. Law Ctr., State Food Laws Enacted in 2024, Emily Stone (Sep. 12, 2024)

Ohio St. Univ. Ext. Farm Off. Blog, Significant Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) Increases in 2024 Will Impact Property Taxes on Farmland in 2025, Barry Ward, (Sep. 20, 2024)

Ohio St. Univ. Ext. Farm Off. Blog, Should Machinery Be in an LLC?, Robert Moore (Sep. 16, 2024)

Agric. Law & Tax’n Blog, Contracts; Insurance and Property Rights – Impacts for Your Farming/Ranching Operation, Roger A. McEowen (Sep. 12, 2024)

FEDERAL ACTIONS—EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE

U.S. ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

EPA Settles with Paradise City over the Sale of Illegal Disinfectants on Oahu (Sep. 19, 2024)

EPA Awards Two Texas Institutions $3.2 Million for Research on PFAS Exposure and Reduction in Agriculture (Sep. 12, 2024)

U.S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) PRESS RELEASES

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Final Awards through Landmark Meat and Poultry Processing Investment (Sep. 19, 2024)

USDA Invests Nearly $121M in Specialty Crops Research and Organic Agriculture Production (Sep. 10, 2024)

USDA AGENCY PRESS RELEASES:

Agricultural Marketing Service

USDA Issues a Packers and Stockyards Complaint against Ganaderos Unidos Mexicanos LLC (Sep. 17, 2024)

USDA Settles a Packers and Stockyards Case with MBA Beef LLC dba Interstate Regional Stockyards (Sep. 17, 2024)

USDA Settles a Packers and Stockyards Case with Keith Robertson (Sep. 17, 2024)

USDA Awards Over $10 Million in Funding to Strengthen Markets for U.S. Agricultural Products and Address Food Insecurity in Underserved Communities (Sep. 13, 2024)

USDA Restricts PACA Violators in New York, North Carolina and Washington from Operating in the Produce Industry (Sep. 12, 2024)

USDA Files Action Against Real Value Sales Inc. in Arizona for Alleged PACA Violations (Sep. 12, 2024)

USDA Cites Northeast Tomato Distributors Inc. in Pennsylvania for PACA Violations (Sep. 12, 2024)

USDA Files Action Against Marchella of NY Inc. in New York for Alleged PACA Violations (Sep. 11, 2024)

USDA Files Action Against Sunbelt Produce Distributors Inc. in Georgia for Alleged PACA Violations (Sep. 11, 2024)

USDA and the Appalachia Regional Food Business Center Make Available $3.32 Million to Farm and Food Businesses in First Round of Business Builder Subawards (Sep. 10, 2024)

Economic Research Service

The Effect of Climate Change on Herbaceous Biomass and Implications for Global Cattle Production (Sep. 19, 2024)

Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2017 (Sep. 11, 2024)

U.S. Certified Organic Dairy Production: Three Decades of Growth (Sep. 10, 2024)

Farm Service Agency

USDA Launches Assistance Network to Support Financially Distressed Farmers and Ranchers (Sep. 21, 2024)

National Farmers Union and USDA Announce Agreement to Strengthen Farm Service Agency County-Level Operations (Sep. 9, 2024)

Forest Service

USDA Invests $100 Million to Expand Work to Confront the Wildfire Crisis as part of Investing in America Agenda (Sep. 10, 2024)

National Agricultural Statistics Service

USDA forecasts US corn production down, soybean and cotton production up from 2023 (Sep. 12, 2024)

NASS releases 2022 Census of Agriculture Web Maps application (Sep. 10, 2024)

USDA NIFA Invests $300,000 to Enhance Forest and Rangeland Sustainability (RREA-NNF) (Sep. 11, 2024)

USDA NIFA Invests $2.5 Million in Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDC) (Sep. 11, 2024)

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

NIFA Invests $960K in Research Facilities (Sep. 18, 2024)

 FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Federal Register Sep. 9–21, 2024):   

Agricultural Department

89 FR 77075 Notice: “Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request [Food Safety and Inspection Service: Consumer Complaint Monitoring System]” (Sep. 20, 2024)

89 FR 76065 Notice: “Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request [National Agricultural Statistics Service: 2024 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey]” (Sep. 17, 2024)

89 FR 75528 Notice: “Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request [Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service: Control and Eradication of African Swine Fever; Conditions for Payment of Indemnity Claims]” (Sep. 16, 2024)

89 FR 75527 Notice: “Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request [Farm Service Agency: Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 (CFAP2)]” (Sep. 16, 2024)

89 FR 75526 Notice: “Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request [Farm Service Agency: Assignments of Payments and Joint Payment Authorizations; Request for Waiver]” (Sep. 16, 2024)

 Agricultural Marketing Service

89 FR 77037 Proposed Rule—Comment Period: “Avocados Grown in South Florida and Imported Avocados; Change in Maturity Requirements” (Sep. 20, 2024)

89 FR 75526 Notice—Comment Period: “Opportunity to Comment on Applicants for the Southeast Texas U.S. Grain Standards Act Designation Area” (Sep. 16, 2024)

89 FR 75445 Rule—Comment Period: “Cotton Board Rules and Regulations: Adjusting Supplemental Assessment on Imports (2024 Amendments)” (Sep. 16, 2024)

Agricultural Research Service

89 FR 73350 Notice—Comment Period: “Meeting of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee” (Sep. 10, 2024)

89 FR 73351 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Intent to Renew an Information Collection” (Sep. 10, 2024)

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

89 FR 73621 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Self-Certification Medical Statement” (Sep. 11, 2024)

Food and Nutrition Service

89 FR 76787 Notice—Comment Period: “Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Request-Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Health Outcomes and Participant Experience (HOPE) Study” (Sep. 19, 2024)

 Food Safety and Inspection Service

89 FR 73622 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Request to Renew an Approved Information Collection: Accredited Laboratories” (Sep. 11, 2024)

89 FR 73253 Rule—Comment Period: “Availability of FSIS Guideline on Substantiating Animal-Raising or Environment-Related Labeling Claims” (Sep. 10, 2024)

89 FR 73059 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Request to Renew an Approved Information Collection: Records to Be Kept by Official Establishments and Retail Stores That Grind Raw Beef Products” (Sep. 9, 2024)

Environmental Protection Agency

89 FR 75538 Notice: “Chlorpyrifos; Amendment to Existing Stocks Provisions in Kaizen Product Cancellation Orders” (Sep. 16, 2024)

89 FR 75536 Notice—Comment Period: “Chlorpyrifos; Notice of Receipt of Requests to Voluntarily Amend Registrations to Terminate Asparagus Use” (Sep. 16, 2024)

 Forest Service

89 FR 76443 Notice: “Alpine County Resource Advisory Committee” (Sep. 18, 2024)

89 FR 75528 Notice: “Superior Resource Advisory Committee” (Sep. 16, 2024)

89 FR 74203 Notice: “Newspapers Used for Publication of Legal Notices by the Rocky Mountain Region: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Parts of South Dakota and Wyoming” (Sep. 12, 2024)

89 FR 73353 Notice: “Ouachita National Forest; Scott and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas; Heavener Coal Leasing Project; Withdrawal of Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement” (Sep. 10, 2024)

89 FR 73352 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Proposed Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent for the Cabin 29/East Area of the Mammoth Stamp Mill Site, Inyo National Forest, Mono County, California” (Sep. 10, 2024)

89 FR 73351 Notice: “Modoc Resource Advisory Committee” (Sep. 10, 2024)

89 FR 72990 Rule: “Special Uses; Land Use Fees; Temporary Land Use Fee Reductions for Recreation Residence Permits” (Sep. 9, 2024)

89 FR 73060 Notice: “Land Between the Lakes Advisory Board” (Sep. 9, 2024)

National Agricultural Statistics Service

89 FR 73354 Notice: “Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics” (Sep. 10, 2024)

89 FR 73353 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Intent to Request Revision and Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection [Stocks Reports]” (Sep. 10, 2024)

89 FR 73355 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Intent to Request Revision and Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection [Generic Clearance to Conduct Survey Research Studies]” (Sep. 10, 2024)

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

89 FR 75762 Rule—Comment Period: “Modernizing Grant Program Regulation” (Sep. 16, 2024)

Rural Housing Service

89 FR 76793 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Request for Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection [Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program]” (Sep. 19, 2024)

89 FR 76745 Proposed Rule—Comment Period: “Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program” (Sep. 19, 2024)

89 FR 76065 Notice—Comment Period: “Consolidated Multifamily Housing Technical Assistance Grant Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) Fiscal Year 2024” (Sep. 17, 2024)

 Rural Utilities Service

89 FR 75529 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection [Technical Assistance Programs]” (Sep. 16, 2024)

U.S. HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE:

H.R.9602 “Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act” Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture (Sep. 16, 2024)

H.R.9571 “CARE Act” Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture (Sep. 12, 2024)

U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY:

S.5106 “A bill to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to exempt certain owners of livestock from inspection requirements, and for other purposes” Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (Sep. 19, 2024)

S.5104 “A bill to amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to reduce Federal spending on crop insurance, and for other purposes” Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (Sep. 19, 2024)

S.5094 “Farm to Food Bank Reauthorization Act of 2024” Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (Sep. 18, 2024)

S.5020 “Local Procurement Act” Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (Sep. 11, 2024)

Agriculture-Related Legislative Hearings & Reports

No Upcoming Hearings or Reports

STATE ACTIONS—EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PRESS RELEASES
No new press release Sep. 9–21, 2024

PENNSYLVANIA EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Pa. Bulletin Vol. 54, No. 37—Sep. 14, 2024 & No. 38—Sep. 21, 2024): 

Department of Environment Protection

54 Pa.B. 6062 Notice: “Agricultural Advisory Board Meeting Cancellation”

54 Pa.B. 5915 Notice: “Draft Pennsylvania Great Lakes Water Management Program Report; Available for Public Comment”

Pennsylvania Milk Board

54 Pa.B. 5985 Notice: “Milk Marketing Fees; Correction”

PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE

SB 1269 “An Act amending Title 3 (Agriculture) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, establishing the Agriculture Innovation Grant Program and the Agriculture Innovation Board.” Laid on the table (Sep. 16, 2024)

 

Contributors:
Riley Amdor—Research Assistant
Victoria Dutterer—Research Assistant
Samuel Sweeten—Research Assistant
Audry Thompson—Staff Attorney