COVID-19
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending January 22, 2021
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Industrial Hemp: USDA Publishes Final Hemp Rule
On January 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) published in the Federal Register a final rule titled “Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program” (86 FR 5596), which completes the closely-followed process begun by the October 31, 2019 interim final rule to complete regulations governing domestic […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending January 8, 2021
COVID-19: USDA Announces Fifth Round of Food Box Purchases
On January 4, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a fifth round of food purchases of $1.5 billion for the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. The funding for this fifth round was provided through the COVID-19 relief funding legislation signed into law on December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (see “$900 Billion Appropriations Act Includes $13 Billion in COVID-19 Relief for Agriculture,” ALWR—week ending January 1, 2021). USDA will solicit offers from more than 240 suppliers with previous Basic Ordering Agreements (BOA) and issue awards by January 19, 2021. USDA states that it will amend the BOA to include pre-cooked seafood products, which may now be combined […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending January 1, 2021
COVID-19: $900 Billion Appropriations Act Includes $13 Billion in COVID-19 Relief for Agriculture
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law H.R.133, known as the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” which appropriates $900 billion dollars in COVID-19 relief funding, approximately $13 Billion of which represents aid to agriculture in various forms. That represents 1.4% of the total relief funding bill. The list of aid under USDA’s jurisdiction includes a gross amount of $11.2 Billion allocated to the Office of the USDA Secretary for direct financial assistance to commodity producers. The balance is appropriated to various existing statutory programs […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending December 4, 2020
Dean Foods Bankruptcy: Dean Foods Bankruptcy Estate Threatens Dairy Producers with Lawsuits to Recoup Alleged “Preference” Payments
On November 24, 2020, a commercial collections law firm named ASK LLP, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota and hired to represent the Southern Foods Group, LLC formerly d/b/a Dean Foods (“Dean”) Chapter 11 bankruptcy estate, mailed demand letters asserting legal claims for the repayment of milk check proceeds against thousands of dairy producers (including cooperatives) throughout the United States. The claims seek the recovery of milk checks received from Dean within ninety days preceding Dean’s filing of bankruptcy (i.e. between August 14, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending October 30, 2020
Pesticides: EPA Approves Three Dicamba Products’ Registrations Until December 20, 2025
On October 27, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its decision to approve five-year registrations of three dicamba products for “over-the-top” use: Bayers’ XtendiMax and BASF’s Engenia, whose registrations were previously cancelled, and Syngenta’s Tavium, whose registration was not cancelled but set to expire December 20, 2020. DuPont’s FeXapan is not part of the approval decision and remains unapproved for any use at this time. The three decisions, and supporting documents, are posted directly to the Regulations.gov nonrulemaking docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0492 titled “
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending October 23, 2020
Animal Welfare: Ninth Circuit Upholds Denial of Injunction Against California’s Proposition 12
On October 15, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a memorandum disposition affirming the U.S. District Court (USDC) for the Central District of California’s November 22, 2019, denial of a preliminary injunction against California’s Proposition 12. North American Meat Institute, et al. v. Becerra, et al., No. 19-56408. The underlying complaint remains pending before the district court. North American Meat Institute et al. v. Becerra, et al., 2:19-cv-08569. Proposition 12 requires that all pigs, veal calves and egg-laying hens housed in […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending October 9, 2020
Antitrust: U.S. Department of Justice Indicts Six More Poultry Executives Over Alleged Price Fixing
On October 7, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a grand jury indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado of six additional poultry executives for conspiring to rig bids and fix prices of U.S. broiler chickens in violation of the Sherman Act: Timothy R. Mulrenin, William Vincent Kantola, Jimmie Lee Little, William Wade Lovette, Gary Brian Roberts, and Rickie Patterson Blake. United States v. Penn, No. 1:20-cr-00152. Four indictments were previously issued in the same proceeding. […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending October 2, 2020
International Trade: USDA and FDA Sign MOU to Coordinate, Collaborate on Dairy Exports
On October 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced their establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU 225-20-017), indicating their intent to cooperate and collaborate regarding the export of milk and milk products from the United States. Under the MOU, FAS will lead communications with foreign governments while AMS will facilitate exports and issue dairy sanitary certificates. Additionally, FDA will verify the regulatory standing of milk producers and […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending September 18, 2020
Biofuels: EPA Denies Sixty-Eight Small Refinery Exemptions to Renewable Fuel Standard 🌾
On September 14, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its denial of sixty-eight pending small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions requesting relief from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending compliance for 2011–2018. Following the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals’ January 24, 2020 ruling in Renewable Fuels Assn. v. EPA, holding that EPA’s grant of economic hardship exemptions, rather than statutory-authorized extensions, exceeded EPA’s legal authority. Refiners filed sixty-eight petitions seeking, in various ways, to backfill their previous history of exemptions with new EPA grants of […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending September 11, 2020
Water Quality: Lawsuits filed against EPA over Pa and NY Chesapeake Bay
On September 10, 2020, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the states of Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia filed separate complaints against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking to invalidate New York and Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Agreement nutrient reduction plans and compel EPA Secretary Andrew Wheeler to ensure state compliance with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement nutrient reduction goals. (Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 1:20-cv-02529; State of Maryland v. Wheeler, No. 1:20-cv-02530). Filed in the U.S. District Court […]
