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Agricultural Law Weekly Review—August 9, 2024
Environmental Credit Trading: Pennsylvania Passes ‘Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act’ 🌾
On July 17, 2024, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law S.B. 831 (Act 87), titled the “Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act.” The law vests “ownership of all pore space in all strata below the surface lands and waters of th[e] Commonwealth . . . in the surface property interest owner above the pore space” and provides that “a conveyance of the surface ownership of real property shall be a conveyance of the pore space.” Additionally, the law directs the Environmental Quality Board to promulgate regulations for carbon […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—July 15, 2024
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- Tues. July 16: Overview of U.S. State Milk Pricing Systems, Part 2
- Wed. July 17: “HPAI in Poultry and Cattle: How Can We Miss You if You Won’t Go Away?”
Water Quality: Oklahoma Court Holds State Ag Department Must Consider Environmental Impacts of Animal Operations 🌾
On June 28, 2024, the Oklahoma District Court for Delaware County issued an order granting partial summary judgment against the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (OKDAFF) in an action filed by a group of landowners alleging that OKDAFF’s issuance of certain Poultry Feeding Operation registrations violated the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—March 11, 2024
Agricultural Labor: Fifth Circuit Remands ‘Independent Contractor’ Rule Challenge to District Court, DOL January 2024 Rule Effective March 11, 2024 🌾
On February 19, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order vacating the district court’s decision and remanding a case challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) March 2021 delay (86 FR 12535) and May 2021 withdrawal (86 FR 24303) of the agency’s independent contractor rule, issued on January 7, 2021 (86 FR 1168) shortly before the change of administration. Coalition v. Su, No. 22-40316. The January 2021 […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—January 29, 2024
Water Quality: EPA Publishes Proposed Rule for Meat and Poultry Point Source Effluent Limitations 🌾
On January 23, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule (89 FR 4474) to amend Meat and Poultry Products Effluent Guidelines and Standards. Initially announced by EPA on December 15, 2023, the 2024 Proposed Rule offers three options, the first of which EPA claims as the agency’s preferred option. According to the proposed rule, Option 1 “would include new phosphorus limits and revised nitrogen limits for large direct dischargers and new pretreatment standards on […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—January 8, 2024
Animal Welfare: California’s Proposition 12 Fully Effective January 1, 2024, Producer Certification Required 🌾
On January 1, 2024, California’s Proposition 12 and implementing regulations became fully effective, establishing the state’s Animal Care Program and requiring third-party certification for producers (HSC §§ 25990-25994 and 3 CCR §§ 1320-1327.3). According to a publication from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), as of January 1, 2024, (1) “[p]roducers are required to have a valid Certificate of Compliance,” (2) “[c]overed products sold are required to be from producers with valid Certificates of Compliance,” and (3) “[d]istributors are required to […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—December 15, 2023
Antitrust: Federal Jury Finds Egg Producers Liable for Price-Fixing and Conspiracy, Damages Awarded 🌾
On November 21, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a minute entry of a jury verdict finding the defendant egg producers liable in an antitrust case alleging that numerous egg producers—including United Egg Producers, Inc., United States Egg Marketers, Inc., and Cal-Maine Foods—“unlawfully agreed to and did implement their conspiracy to control supply and artificially maintain and increase the price of eggs through a series of collective actions.” Kraft Foods Global v. United Egg Producers, No. 1:11-cv-08808. The case […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 9, 2023
Agricultural Labor: Federal Court Denies Preliminary Injunction of February 2023 H-2A Wage Rule 🌾
On September 26, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina issued an order denying a preliminary injunction against the Department of Labor’s (DOL) February 2023 final rule, which amended the H-2A wage rate calculations to include data from non-agricultural occupations. USA Farm Labor v. Su, No. 1:23-cv-00096. The court found that the plaintiff farm employer group “ha[d] not made an adequate showing . . . that the Agency has exceeded its statutory authority or that its construction of the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—September 25, 2023
Pesticides: Federal Court Approves Settlement in 2011 EPA Pesticide Registration Dispute 🌾
On September 12, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order approving a stipulated settlement agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and plaintiff environmental groups, resolving a longstanding dispute over EPA’s registration of 382 pesticide active ingredients. Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 3:11-cv-00293. Also announced by EPA, the settlement “resolves all outstanding claims” of the “megasuit,” filed in 2011 and partially settled in 2019, “which was ultimately reduced to 35 […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—September 11, 2023
Antitrust: Federal Court Dismisses Monopsony Claims Against Tyson Fresh Meats 🌾
On August 28, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington issued an order granting Tyson Fresh Meats Inc.’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former cattle feeder, Cody Allen Easterday. Easterday v. Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., No. 4:23-cv-05019. Easterday alleged that the company created a monopsony market in the Pacific Northwest where cattle feeders “have no reasonable choice but to contract with [Tyson]” in violation of the Packers and Stockyard Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Washington Consumer Protection Act. The […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—July 17, 2023
Conservation Programs: USDA Announces $300 Million, Draft Federal Strategy to Improve Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Carbon Sequestration 🌾
On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a notice in the Federal Register (88 FR 44251) requesting public comment on an interagency draft report: Federal Strategy to Advance Measurement and Monitoring Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Monitoring for the Agriculture and Forest Sectors. Additionally, USDA announced $300 million in available funding to “improve measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration in climate-smart agriculture and forestry.” According to the announcement, the draft strategy […]
