September 16, 2024

Agricultural Law Weekly Review—September 16, 2024

This Week:

International Trade: Chile Approves Agreement on U.S. Meat and Cheese Imports, Terminology 🌾
On September 3, 2024, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the National Congress of Chile had approved an agreement “regarding market access to Chile for a number of U.S. cheese and meat products and how Chile will treat prior users of certain terms for cheeses.” Previously, in June 2024, USTR announced the exchange of letters by the United States and Chile initially affirming the agreement. According to the letters, U.S. products “will not be restricted in Chile due to the mere use” of the following cheese and meat terms: american, blue, blue vein, brie, burrata, camembert, cheddar, chevre, colby, cottage cheese, coulommiers, cream cheese, danbo, edam, emmental, emmentaler, gouda, limburger, mascarpone, monterey/monterey jack, mozzarella, pecorino, pepper jack, provolone, ricotta, saint-paulin, samso, tilsiter, tomme, black forest ham, bratwurst, chorizo, kielbasa, mortadella, pancetta, prosciutto, and salami. According to USTR, the agreement “will also be treated as an integral part of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement, including for the purposes of dispute settlement.”  

Local Food: Illinois Passes Bill Amending Homemade Food Products Law
On August 9, 2024, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law SB 2617 (Act 103-0903), which amends the state’s “cottage food operation” law to “allow counties without local health departments to contract with one in an adjacent county” to register cottage food operations. Under the law, if an adjacent local health department is contracted, the Illinois Department of Public Health is authorized to take the following actions “in the event of a consumer complaint or a foodborne illness outbreak”: inspect the premises of the cottage food operation; “set a reasonable fee for the inspection”; and “invoke penalties and the cessation of the sale of cottage food products until it deems that the situation has been addressed to the satisfaction of the Department or local health department.” The bill also replaces the terminology “potentially hazardous food,” with “time/temperature control for safety food” throughout the entire bill and allows for direct consumer sales of cottage food products at mobile farmers markets. The bill becomes effective January 1, 2025.

Water Quality: EPA Directs Vermont to Consolidate NPDES Authority into Single State Agency
On September 6, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) outlining several deficiencies in the state’s administration of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program and directing the state to take remedial action. According to the letter, after receiving a petition from several conservation interest groups in March 2022, which raised similar complaints to a 2008 petition, EPA investigated Vermont’s NPDES program relating to its regulation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO)—which is overseen by both ANR and Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets (AAFM). Following the investigation, EPA found that “the current division of responsibilities between ANR and AAFM is interfering with the regulation of Vermont’s CAFOs and preventing Vermont from adequately addressing agricultural water quality” and “concluded that the consolidation of authority to implement the NPDES program into ANR . . . is the only workable solution.” EPA then directed Vermont to 1) designate ANR, which EPA noted “is the agency that has the legal authority to implement the [NPDES] program,” as the state agency “responsible for CAFO permitting, monitoring, and [NPDES] enforcement . . . on Vermont’s farms,” authorizing ANR to “conduct[] routine inspections, enforce[e] nutrient management planning requirements, and administer[] discharge permits” and 2) provide ANR “with sufficient resources to administer the NPDES program to meet [Clean Water Act] requirements.” According to the letter, ANR must “present a proposed corrective action plan and timeframe for resolution of the issues to EPA on or before December 5, 2024.”

Disaster Assistance Programs: USDA Announces Drought Primary Natural Disaster Areas in Pennsylvania, West Virginia
On September 13, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) issued an announcement declaring Pennsylvania as a primary natural disaster area for drought. According to the announcement, the primary eligible counties are Fayette and Westmoreland, along with several contiguous counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Cambria, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington. Additionally, FSA also issued announcements declaring primary drought natural disaster areas in counties in northern and south central West Virginia and the panhandle and along the Ohio border. Producers in these areas are eligible to apply for emergency loans, which FSA states it will review “based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability.” The loan application deadline is May 9, 2025.

National Agriculture Policy: USDA, National Farmers Union Sign MOU to Address Farm Service Agency County-Level Offices
On September 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Farmers Union (NFU) signed a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU) “to address staffing levels and improve customer service at USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) county-level offices.” Also announced by FSA and NFU, the non-binding MOU, which includes objectives from the February 2024 USDA Equity Commission Final Report, details how the two organizations will “gather and collect information and feedback from family farmers and ranchers” on their interactions with FSA staff and programs, specifically through local listening sessions hosted by NFU. The MOU is effective for two years unless terminated by the parties through written notice.

 

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CENTER PROGRAMS & RESOURCES

2024 Pennsylvania Agricultural Law Symposium

  • Sept. 19, 2024, 8:30am–4:30pm, In-person at Penn State Law in University Park, Pa., 6 CLE Credits (5 substantive, 1 ethics):
    • 2023-24 Ag Law Year in Review
    • Legal Landscape of Land Application: Biosolids and Food Processing Waste
    • Agricultural Cooperatives: Is Everything Old New Again?
    • Carbon Credits and Contracts: Common and Uncommon Provisions
    • Using Farm Labor Contractors for Domestic and H-2A Workers
    • Conflicts and Ethical Issues in Farm Family Representation

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:

Podcasts:

Farmland Legal Energy Podcast

Introduction to Precision Agriculture (Aug. 22, 2024)

An Overview of Critical Minerals (Aug. 6, 2024)

Resources of Interest:

Nat’l Agric. Law Ctr., Upcoming Webinar to Address Legal Issues in Farmers’ Right to Repair Equipment, Drew Viguet (Sep. 5, 2024)

Nat’l Agric. Law Ctr., EPA Publishes Highly-Anticipated Final Herbicide Strategy, Brigit Rollins (Sep. 5, 2024)

Southern Ag Today, Hunting Leases and Rural Land, Rusty Rumley, Nat’l Agric. Law Ctr. (Sep. 6, 2024)

Texas A&M Agric. Law Blog, USDA Releases 2024 Cash Rent Data, Tiffany Dowell Lashmet (Sep. 3, 2024)

FEDERAL ACTIONS—EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE

U.S. ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

EPA Awards $15 Million for Research on PFAS Exposure and Reduction in Agriculture (Sep. 4, 2024)

U.S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) PRESS RELEASES

Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on ERS’ 2024 Farm Sector Income Forecast (Sep. 5, 2024)

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $7.3 Billion in Clean Energy Investments from the Investing in America Agenda, Largest Investment in Rural Electrification Since the New Deal (Sep. 5, 2024)

Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the 2023 Household Food Security in the U.S. Report (Sep. 4, 2024)

USDA AGENCY PRESS RELEASES:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

USDA Strengthening Animal Health Programs by Awarding Additional Farm Bill Funding to Tribal Partners (Sep. 3, 2024)

Economic Research Service

Household Food Security in the United States in 2023 (Sep. 4, 2024)

Farm Service Agency

USDA Announces September 2024 Lending Rates for Agricultural Producers (Sep. 3, 2024)

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

USDA Invests $17.6M to Protect the Health and Welfare of Agricultural Animals (Sep. 4, 2024)

NIFA Invests $5.3M in Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research (BRAG) (Sep. 4, 2024)

National Resource Conservation Service

USDA Announces New Fiscal Year 2025 Funding for Agricultural Conservation Easements (Sep. 5, 2024)

USDA Announces New Funding for Agricultural Conservation Easement Programs (Sep. 5, 2024)

Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Fiscal Year 2025 Funding for Agricultural Conservation Easements through the Investing in America Agenda (Sep. 4, 2024)

FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Federal Register Sep. 2–6, 2024):   

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

89 FR 71250 Notice—Comment Period: “Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Release of Bagous nodulosus for Biological Control of Flowering Rush in the Continental United States” (Sep. 3, 2024)

89 FR 71250 Notice: “National Wildlife Services Advisory Committee; Meeting” (Sep. 3, 2024)

Environmental Protection Agency

89 FR 72775 Proposed Rule—Comment Period: “Pesticide Tolerances; Implementing Registration Review Decisions for Certain Pesticides (Capric (Decanoic) Acid, Caprylic (Octanoic) Acid, and Pelargonic (Nonanoic) Acid)” (Sep. 6, 2024)

 Forest Service

89 FR 72364 Notice: “Directive Publication Notice” (Sep. 5, 2024)

89 FR 71251 Notice: “Proposed Recreation Fee Site” (Sep. 3, 2024)

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

89 FR 72820 Notice—Comment Period: “Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records” (Sep. 5, 2024)

U.S. HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE:

H.R.8210 “Future Farmers and Ranchers of Tomorrow Act of 2024” Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit (Sep. 3, 2024)

H.R.8138 “To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a disaster response training program to train certain Farm Service Agency employees to provide outreach and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers affected by a natural disaster, and for other purposes.” Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit (Sep. 3, 2024)

H.R.7923 “SOLAR Act” Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development (Sep. 3, 2024)

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

No new actions Sep. 2–6, 2024.

Agriculture-Related Legislative Hearings & Reports

U.S. Senate Ag. Comm., Keeping Kids Learning in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, Sep. 18, 2024

STATE ACTIONS—EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PRESS RELEASES
No new press release Sep. 2–6, 2024.

PENNSYLVANIA EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Pa. Bulletin Vol. 54, No. 36—Sep. 7, 2024): 

Department of Agriculture

54 Pa.B. 5624 Notice: “Addendum to the Order of Quarantine; Box Tree Moth”

54 Pa.B. 5624 Notice: “List of Pesticides Which May be used by Medical Marijuana Growers and Processors”

PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE

No new Agriculture actions Sep. 2–6, 2024.

 

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