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—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 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 November 27, 2020
Food Labeling: International Dairy Federation Publishes Dairy Terminology Standards Update
On November 18, 2020, the International Dairy Federation (IDF) announced the publication of an update to its General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms (GSUDT), titled IDF Bulletin 507/2020: The Codex General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms—Its nature, intent, and implications. IDF specifies in the bulletin that milk “refers to normal mammary secretion of milking animals obtained from one or more milkings” and that “dairy terms are reserved to milk and milk products conforming to this definition.” Along with the bulletin, which is intended as […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending November 20, 2020
Right to Farm: North Carolina Swine Production Facility Nuisance Verdict Upheld On Appeal and Smithfield Announced Unspecified Settlement of Claims
On November 19, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued an opinion affirming in part and vacating in part a judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (McKiver v. Murphy-Brown, LLC, No. 7:14-cv-00180) upon an April 26, 2018 verdict awarding compensatory damages for nuisance of $75,000 each and punitive damages of $5 million each (reduced by state law to $250,000 each) in favor of ten neighboring landowners […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending November 13, 2020
International Trade: EU Imposes Tariffs on U.S. Agricultural Products
On November 9, 2020, the European Commission announced the passage of Regulation 2020/1646, which levies a new 25% World Trade Organization (WTO)-authorized tariff on enumerated U.S. agricultural products (and 15% on U.S. aircraft products) in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on European Union (EU) exports. Agricultural product tariffs, including on a wide range of cheeses, are being bi-laterally utilized by both nations as retaliation for government subsidies to Airbus and Boeing respectively. On November 10, 2020, the primary trade organization of U.S. dairy cooperatives, National Milk Producers Federation, issued […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—week ending November 6, 2020
Agricultural Labor: Department of Labor Modifies H2A Minimum Wage Calculation
On November 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration published in the Federal Register a final rule titled “Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States” (85 FR 70445), which changes the calculation method of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), or the minimum wage for agricultural guest workers. Under the final rule, DOL will base the AEWR for field and livestock workers on the 2019 Farm Labor Survey (FLS) “average annual gross […]
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 16, 2020
Antitrust: JBS Subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride Pleads Guilty to Price-Fixing
On October 14, 2020, Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (Pilgrim’s), a wholly-owned subsidiary of JBS S.A., issued an announcement stating that it has entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding its involvement in broiler chicken price-fixing. According to the announcement, Pilgrim’s will pay $110,524,140 in exchange for no further charges if remaining in compliance with the plea agreement, which remains subject to approval from the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. United States v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, No. 1:20-cr-00330. Multiple over parties remain […]
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. […]
