Dairy Policy
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending December 11, 2020
Dean Foods Bankruptcy: Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board Negotiates Nationwide Solution to Preference Payment Claims
On December 9, 2020, the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board (PMMB), partnering with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, announced that it had negotiated with the St. Paul, Minnesota, law firm representing the Chapter 11 bankruptcy estate of Dean Foods, ASK LLP. As a result, the PMMB prepared, and posted on the PMMB website, forms which can be downloaded, completed by producers and milk haulers in any state in the country, and mailed to ASK LLP as soon as possible as a response to the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending August 7, 2020
COVID-19: Michigan Requires COVID-19 Testing for Agricultural Employees
On August 3, 2020, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced the issuance of an Emergency Order by its director titled, “Mandatory Testing, Preventative Measures, and Safe Housing for Agricultural Workers.” Supported by the governor’s Executive Orders 2020-111 (June 1, 2020), 2020-137 (June 29, 2020), and 2020-161 (July 29, 2020), the Emergency Order requires agricultural employers and housing operators to provide COVID-19 testing for workers and residents. According to the order, housing operators must provide “one-time baseline testing” for all residents ages eighteen and over and […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending July 17, 2020
Dairy Policy: PA Milk Marketing Board Executes Dean Foods Bond Claims
On July 8, 2020, the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board (PMMB) issued multiple consent orders establishing over $9.2 million in claims against the Milk Dealer Corporate Surety Bonds of four Dean Foods subsidiaries for failing to pay dairy farmer cooperative Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) for Pennsylvania-produced milk delivered to Dean Foods facilities during the course of the Dean Foods bankruptcy. Bond claims were filed against Dean Dairy Holdings, LLC ($900,198.79); Garelick Farms, LLC Burlington ($3,262,196.63); Suiza Dairy Group, LLC ($13,420.80); and Tuscan/Lehigh Dairies, Inc.— Lansdale and […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending July 10, 2020
Pesticides: Plaintiffs Withdraw Class Settlement after Judge Expresses Doubt
On July 6, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a pretrial order in the case In re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation, expressing doubt about the “propriety and fairness” of Monsanto/Bayer’s proposed $10 billion payment to settle most pending and all future glyphosate suits. The court articulated several specific concerns about the company’s proposed settlement of all future claims through a class action process with a panel of scientists deciding “whether and at what dose Roundup is capable of causing cancer.” The Court questioned the “appropriateness” […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—May 7, 2020
Dairy Policy: Justice Department Concludes Investigation of Dean Foods Asset Sale
On May 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced that it had concluded its investigation into Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.’s (DFA) bankruptcy auction purchase of the substantial majority of dairy processing assets of Chapter 11 bankruptcy debtor Dean Foods (Dean). Its conclusion is embodied in the civil antitrust lawsuit filed that same day in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois stating its opposition to the bankruptcy sale agreement unless DFA excluded from the purchase three specific Dean fluid milk processing plants (in Harvard, Illinois; […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 30, 2020
COVID-19: President Delegates Defense Production Act Authority to USDA Secretary to Ensure Continued Supply of Meat and Poultry
On April 28, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order, titled “Delegating Authority Under the DPA with Respect to Food Supply Chain Resources During the National Emergency Caused by the Outbreak of COVID-19.” This Executive Order delegates authority to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue “to ensure the continued supply of meat and poultry” by taking “all appropriate action” under the The Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2061 et seq.) (DPA), “to ensure that meat and poultry processors […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 16, 2020
Avian Influenza: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Detected in South Carolina:
On April 9, 2020, USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the confirmed presence of H7N3 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. APHIS stated that there is no immediate human health concern. A report issued by APHIS to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) states that 34,160 turkeys were “suspectible,” 1,583 died, and 32,577 were culled. APHIS also stated that this is the first confirmed case of HPAI in commercial poultry in the United States since 2017, and it appears […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 2, 2020
COVID-19 Pandemic: Congress Enacts Three Laws Providing Pandemic Assistance
Over the last few weeks, the U.S. Congress has enacted three new federal laws providing COVID-19 pandemic assistance benefits and programs to individuals and businesses, including agricultural stakeholders.
On March 5 and 6, 2020, respectively, Congress enacted and the President signed the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, H.R. 6074 (P.L. 116-123), providing $8.3 billion in emergency funding, which includes appropriations for several Small Business Administration (SBA) financial assistance and loan programs for which agricultural producers are eligible.
On March 18, 2020, Congress enacted and the President signed the Families First […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—March 26, 2020
Dairy Policy: Dean Foods Bankruptcy Asset Sale Proceeds Without DFA as Pre-Negotiated Opening Bidder
On March 19, 2020, a hearing was conducted in the Dean Foods Chapter 11 bankruptcy, pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Case #19-36313, on a motion filed by Debtor Southern Foods Group, LLC and forty-two affiliated companies (Dean Foods) to amend the February 17, 2020, “Bidding Procedures for Sale of Debtors’ Assets” Order. That Order established dairy producer cooperative Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA) as what is referred to in bankruptcy terminology as a “Stalking Horse Bidder” whose bid […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—February 20, 2020
Pesticides/Herbicides: Missouri Federal Jury Returns $265 Million Verdict in Dicamba Drift Trial
On February 14 and 15, 2020, a jury empaneled in the case of Bader Farms, Inc. v. Monsanto Company and BASF Corporation, (Case No. 1:16-cv-00299-SNL) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri returned verdicts in favor of Plaintiffs and against Defendants, awarding $15 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages. The case appears to be the first U.S. jury trial and verdict in a cause of action for property damage to a neighboring landowner caused by drift of the herbicide […]
