Biotechnology
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—May 15, 2023
Animal Welfare: U.S. Supreme Court Finds California’s Proposition 12 Swine Confinement Standards Constitutional as Applied to All California-Retailed Pork Regardless of State of Origin 🌾
On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of National Pork Producers Council, et al. v. Ross, et al., No. 21-468, affirming the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (No. 20-55631) and dismissing all claims that California’s Proposition 12 swine production confinement standards made applicable to all pork products sold in California, regardless of state-of-origin, violated the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
Dairy Policy: NMPF Files FMMO […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 17, 2023
Water Quality: North Dakota Federal Court Enjoins WOTUS Final Rule in 24 States 🌾
On April 12, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction immediately effective in 24 states against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) January 2023 WOTUS Final Rule in West Virginia v. U.S. EPA, No. 3:23-cv-00032. In addition to a previously-issued federal court injunction issued in Texas, effective in Texas and Idaho, the new injunction is effective in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 3, 2023
Water Quality: U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Hear Appeal Interpreting Citizen Suit Authority Under Clean Water Act 🌾
On January 30, 2023, Dakota Finance LLC (dba Arabella Farms) filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in a case which may provide clarity to the applicability of the Clean Water Act (CWA)’s authority to pursue citizen suits when a state agency has already commenced enforcement action under a state law “comparable to” the Clean Water Act’s administrative penalty provisions. Dakota Finance LLC, dba Arabella Farm, et al. v. Naturaland Trust, et al. No. 22-720. […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—March 13, 2023
Biotechnology: U.S. Trade Representative Announces USMCA Technical Consultations On Mexican GMO Corn Ban 🌾
On March 6, 2023, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it is requesting technical consultations with Mexico “regard[ing] certain Mexican measures concerning products of agricultural biotechnology,” i.e., Mexico’s February 13, 2023, decree prohibiting import of genetically modified corn for human consumption. USTR initiates the technical consultations under Article 9.19 of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Chapter of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). According to a statement issued by USDA Secretary Vilsack, the United States “remain[s] firm in […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending December 16, 2022
Agricultural Labor: Fifth Circuit Finds No Federal Jurisdiction In Worker Suit Against Swift Beef For Inadequate COVID Protections 🌾
On December 7, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion vacating and remanding the federal district court’s orders in an action filed by Swift Beef Company employees alleging that they contracted COVID-19 due to the company’s “fail[ure] to provide a safe work environment.” Garcia v. Swift Beef, No. 22-10050; Garcia v. Swift Beef Company, No. 2:20-cv-00263 (N.D. Tex). The case was originally filed in Texas state court but Swift Beef removed it claiming […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending November 25, 2022
Biotechnology: USDA Secretary Releases Statement on U.S.-Mexico Corn Trade After Meeting with Mexican President 🌾
On November 28, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) published a statement from Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding a meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador addressing his December 2020 decree, which called for the phased-out Mexican use of both glyphosate and genetically modified (GE) corn for human consumption by January 31, 2024. Mexican corn production is approximately 60% of its domestic consumption; corn is Mexico’s top imported U.S. agricultural commodity, and Mexico is the second […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending November 18, 2022
Ag Labor: Federal Court Issues Temporary Restraining Order Against Packers Sanitation
On November 10, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) directing Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. to stop using “oppressive child labor” in its operations. Walsh v. Packers Sanitation Services, Inc., No. 4:22-cv-03246. The TRO was issued in response to a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that cited multiple violations of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) child labor laws in JBS meat packing facilities in Grand Island, Nebraska; Worthington, Minnesota; and in Turkey Valley […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending September 23, 2022
Dairy Policy: Pennsylvania’s Over-Order Premium Continues But ‘Should be Modified’ 🌾
On September 21, 2022, the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board (PMMB) entered a new 90-day over-order premium (OOP) order (OGO No. A-1014), as opposed to its customary 180-day order. The order continues Pennsylvania’s OOP at $1.00 cwt for the period October 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022. The order followed an August 30, 2022, hearing on a petition to consider the “level and duration” as well as the “existence” of the OOP. The current OOP mandates a producer price premium over the federal order price through a calculation intended […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending Sept. 16, 2022
Pesticides/Herbicides: Federal Court Hears Proposals for Resolving Multidistrict Roundup Litigation 🌾
On September 1, 2022, representatives of Plaintiffs’ leadership group and Defendant Bayer (as successor in interest to Monsanto) filed a Joint Case Management Statement in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in the multi-district litigation (MDL) captioned In Re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation, No. 16-md-2741, heard by Judge Vince Chhabria. The case consolidates the management of all federal products liability cases pending against Bayer alleging Roundup as the cause of the plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. According to the statement: (a) 3,266 pending cases in the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending March 18, 2022
Food Labeling: Tenth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of ‘Product of USA’ Meat Labeling Lawsuit 🌾
On March 11, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued an opinion and order affirming the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico’s dismissal of a suit alleging that the “Product of the U.S.A” labels used by the defendant meat packers—Tyson Foods, Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions, Corp., JBS USA Food Company, and National Beef Packing Company, LLC—are deceptive and misleading because the labeled beef products are not derived from cattle born and raised in the United States but instead […]
