Technology
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—December 18, 2025
Next Week: Tues. Dec. 23 at Noon—AgWorks: Staying Compliant with Anti-Discrimination Laws
National Agricultural Policy: USDA Announces $12 Billion in ‘Bridge Payments’🌾
On December 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the agency will distribute $12 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funding for “one time bridge payments” to U.S. farmers “in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs.” According to the announcement, $11 billion is allocated for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program, which will provide payments to row crop farmers who produce barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—August 12, 2025
Register Now: 2025 Agricultural Law Symposium—Sept. 18, 2025. Early Bird Pricing until Aug. 29! Attorneys w/ CLE—$150, Non-CLE—$100.
Next Week—Fri. Aug. 22: Understanding the Basics of Foreign Agricultural Land Ownership Laws
Food Safety: FDA to Extend ‘Food Traceability Rule’ Compliance Date Until July 2028 🌾
On August 7, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule (90 FR 38084) to extend the compliance date of the agency’s Food Traceability Rule by 30 months from January 20, 2026, to July 20, 2028. According to the proposed compliance date extension, the agency […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—July 29, 2025
2025 Agricultural Law Symposium, Thurs. Sept. 18, in-person at University Park.
6 CLE credits for PA Attorneys, $150 Early Bird Registration available until Aug. 29!
Industrial Hemp: Eighth Circuit Holds Arkansas Hemp Law Not Preempted by 2018 Farm Bill, Vacates Preliminary Injunction 🌾
On June 24, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion vacating the district court’s preliminary injunction and holding that the 2018 Farm Bill does not preempt Arkansas Act 629, which “criminaliz[ed] many . . . hemp products,” but specifically “does not prohibit the continuous transportation through Arkansas of [hemp].” Bio Gen […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—June 24, 2025
This Week—Fri. June 27 at Noon: Pennsylvania’s Clean & Green Program: County-Level Administration
Register Now—2025 PA Agricultural Law Symposium, Sept. 18, 2025, at Univ. Park, PA.
Antitrust: Federal Court Approves $398 Million Settlement in Chicken Processor Wage-Fixing Class Action 🌾
On June 5, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued orders granting approval of a $398 million settlement fund and award of $132 million in attorney’s fees in a 2019 class action suit claiming that multiple national chicken processers conspired to fix and suppress employee wages. Jien v. Perdue Farms, Inc., No. 1:19-cv-02521. The […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—June 17, 2025
This week: An Overview of State Grain Dealer Statutes in the United States, Wed. June 18 at noon. Center Director Ross Pifer presents with the National Agricultural Law Center.
Next week: Understanding Pennsylvania’s Clean & Green Program: County-Level Administration, Fri. June 27 at noon. Attorney CLE available.
Technology: Federal Court Allows Deere Antitrust Case to Proceed 🌾
On June 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an opinion and order denying Deere & Company’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and allowing the advancement of a case alleging that the company’s repair restrictions violate […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—January 21, 2025
THIS WEEK: Webinar on Jan. 24, 2025, Understanding the Basics of Pennsylvania’s Carbon Sequestration Law
NEW: Farmland Energy Podcast, The Inflation Reduction Act and Agriculture (Jan. 14, 2025)
Dairy Policy: USDA Publishes Final Rule Amending Federal Milk Marketing Order Pricing Provisions 🌾
On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published in the Federal Register a final rule (90 FR 6600) amending the pricing provisions in the 11 Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) after “separate producer referenda held in each of the 11 FMMOs obtained the necessary two-thirds vote in favor of adoption of […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 11, 2024
Agricultural Labor: Federal Court Partially Enjoins 2023 H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Calculation Rule 🌾
On September 18, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a memorandum opinion partially granting a preliminary injunction against the Department of Labor’s (DOL) February 2023 final rule, which amended the H-2A adverse effect wage rate (AEWR) calculations to include data from non-agricultural occupations. Teche Vermilion Sugar Cane Growers Assoc. Inc v. Su, No. 6:23-cv-00831. In their complaint, the plaintiffs “challenge[d] the DOL’s decision to base the AEWR for H-2A workers who haul sugarcane from the field to […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 15, 2024
Ag-Gag Statutes: Kentucky Legislature Passes ‘Agricultural Key Infrastructure Asset Trespass Law,’ Overrides Governor Veto 🌾
On April 12, 2024, the Kentucky legislature overrode the governor’s veto to pass into law Senate Bill 16, titled “An Act Relating to Agricultural Key Infrastructure Assets” (with votes totaling 32-6 in the House and 71-26 in the Senate). The law adds three types of facilities to the definition of “key infrastructure assets”—(1) “a commercial food manufacturing or processing facility,” (2) “an animal feeding operation,” and (3) “a concentrated animal feeding operation”—and establishes that a person “commits the offense of trespass upon key infrastructure […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 10, 2024
Conservation Programs: Fish and Wildlife Service Publishes Three Endangered Species Act Final Rules 🌾
On April 5, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published in the Federal Register three final rules revising regulations for “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants.” The first rule, “Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical Habitat” (89 FR 24300), amends the “procedures and criteria used for listing, reclassifying, and delisting species” and specifies that endangered and threatened species determinations shall be made “without reference to possible economic or other impacts of such determination.” The second rule, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 30, 2023
National Agricultural Policy: USDA Allocates $2.3 Billion in CCC Funds for Trade Promotion, Surplus Commodity Purchases 🌾
On October 24, 2023, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA will allocate $2.3 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds for agricultural trade promotion and international food aid. According to the announcement, $1.3 billion will fund a new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program and $1 billion will fund purchases of surplus U.S. commodities for distribution through USAID. See also ALWR—Oct. 2, 2023, “GAO Decision Finds USDA’s Use of Commodity Credit Corporation Funds Lawful.”
Technology: USDA Rural Development Allows Loan, […]
