Agricultural Law Weekly Review
The Agricultural Law Weekly Review provides an update of recent agricultural law developments from local, state, national, and international levels. Subscribe for updates.
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—December 20, 2024
Agribusiness: Federal Court Enjoins Corporate Transparency Act Ownership Reporting Requirement, January 1, 2025 Deadline Paused 🌾
On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a memorandum opinion and order granting a preliminary injunction enjoining the federal government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirements. Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland, No. 4:24-cv-00478. The court followed the reasoning identified in the March 2024 opinion in National Small Business United v. Yellen and determined that “the CTA is not justified by the Commerce Clause, nor […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—December 10, 2024
This Week:
- Understanding the Basics of Children, Minors & Farm Work, Fri. Dec. 13, 2024 @ noon ET
NEW:
- Farmland Energy Podcast: Dust Pollution in Rural Pennsylvania (Dec. 7, 2024)
Agricultural Labor: Two Federal Courts Block ‘Temporary Ag Workers’ Rule, Nationwide Stay Issued 🌾
On November 25, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi issued an order temporarily staying nationwide the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) recent H-2A final rule, “Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States” (89 FR 33898). Int’l Fresh Produce Assoc. v. U.S. […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—November 26, 2024
Avian Influenza: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Publishes Order Requiring Bulk Milk Testing 🌾
On November 20, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) Secretary Russell Redding issued a general quarantine order—effective immediately and published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on November 23, 2024 (54 Pa.B. 7570)—requiring bulk testing of milk from Pennsylvania farms for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Also announced by PDA, the order requires all in-state milk processors “receiving bulk raw milk directly from a Pennsylvania dairy farm or milk cooperative” to “begin collecting and submitting samples of raw milk taken from each compartment of each […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—November 21, 2024
Avian Influenza: USDA Confirms first HPAI in Swine 🌾
On October 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that the agency had confirmed the first detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI/H5NI) in swine in the United States, located in an Oregon non-commercial backyard farming operation. According to the announcement, the premises included “a mix of poultry and livestock, including swine” that “shared water sources, housing, and equipment,” which the department states “has enabled transmission between species [in other states].” APHIS states that “the animals were not intended for the commercial […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—November 5, 2024
Pesticides/Herbicides: Massachusetts State Court Grants Summary Judgment for Monsanto on FIFRA Preemption 🌾
On October 21, 2024, the Essex County Superior Court of Massachusetts issued a memorandum and order granting summary judgment to Monsanto/Bayer on the issue of preemption, finding that the plaintiff’s state law failure to warn claim was preempted by the labeling requirements of the Federal Insecticide and Fungicide Act (FIFRA), which “provides that a state shall not impose . . . any requirements for labeling or packaging in addition to or different from those required under” FIFRA. Cardillo v. Monsanto, No. 2177CV00462. The court stated that “while […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 29, 2024
Today at Noon—Oct. 29, 2024: Raw Milk—An Overview of State Raw Milk Regulations
Avian Influenza: Pennsylvania Issues General Quarantine Order for Birds and Avian Products 🌾
On October 26, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin a notice of a General Quarantine Order (54 Pa.B. 6717) “establishing a temporary prohibition against the display, exhibit or presence of birds and avian products at any Venue or Fair” in the state unless the birds or products meet certain standards under sections eight and nine of the order—primarily a determination by PDA that the venue and/or the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 23, 2024
Upcoming—Register Now!
- Understanding the Basics of Right to Repair Laws, Online Fri. Oct. 25, 2024
- Dairy Quarterly Legal Webinar: Raw Milk—An Overview of State Raw Milk Regulations, Online Tues. Oct. 29, 2024.
Water Quality: Federal Court Upholds Vacatur of 2020 NRCS Wetlands Final Rule 🌾
On October 8, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion denying the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service’s (NRCS) motion to alter the court’s February 2024 judgment and remand to the agency without vacatur its 2020 wetland conservation rule “to minimize disruption […]
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—October 3, 2024
Dairy Policy/International Trade: Colombia Imposes 4.86% Tariff on U.S. Milk Powder Imports 🌾
On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) published a trade policy monitoring report stating that Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MINCIT) had “imposed a provisional duty of 4.86 percent on U.S. milk powder imports for up to four months.” Prior to this action, FAS states that “U.S. milk powder exports enter Colombia under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement through a duty-free tariff rate quota, which increases annually.” According to the FAS report, on July 4, 2024, MINCIT […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—September 16, 2024
This Week:
- Right to Repair and Agriculture, Center Director Ross Pifer presents with the National Agricultural Law Center, Online Wed. Sep. 18, 2024
- 2024 Pennsylvania Agricultural Law Symposium, In-person Thurs. Sep. 19, 2024
International Trade: Chile Approves Agreement on U.S. Meat and Cheese Imports, Terminology 🌾
On September 3, 2024, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the National Congress of Chile had approved an agreement “regarding market access to Chile for a number of U.S. cheese and meat products and how Chile will treat prior users of certain terms for cheeses.” Previously, in June […]
