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 October 28, 2022
Antitrust: Court Approves $42 Million Smithfield Settlement in Pork Antitrust Litigation 🌾
On October 19, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota issued an order approving a $42 million settlement between Smithfield Foods Inc. and the commercial and institutional indirect purchasers in the civil class action pork price-fixing case, In Re Pork Antitrust Litigation, D. Minn., No. 18-cv-1776. This multi-district litigation is comprised of three separate class actions and classes of plaintiffs: (1) direct purchaser wholesalers; (2) commercial and institutional indirect purchasers; and (3) consumer indirect purchasers. Smithfield is currently in the process of gaining court […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending October 21, 2022
Animal Welfare: Utah State Jury Finds Animal Activist Not Guilty of Burglary and Theft for Taking Two Piglets from Smithfield-Owned Swine Operation 🌾
On October 8, 2022, a Utah state court jury found Wayne Hsiung not guilty of theft and burglary for removing two piglets from a swine production facility owned and operated by Smithfield Foods’ Circle Four Farms while conducting an undercover investigation of the facility in March 2017. Utah v. Hsiung, No. 181500061 (5th Dist. Utah). Hsiung, a member of the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere, was indicted and arrested in May 2018, although […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending October 14, 2022
Agricultural Finance: Socially Disadvantaged Farmers Allege Breach of Contract for Repeal of American Rescue Plan Act Debt Relief Program 🌾
On October 7, 2022, forty-one individuals filed a complaint in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims alleging breach of contract against the U.S. government for Congress’s repeal of the socially disadvantaged farmer debt relief program in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Boyd v. United States, No. 1:22-cv-01473. The repeal was part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Sec. 22008. The plaintiffs, who meet the definition of “socially disadvantaged farmers” (SDF) under ARPA’s Section 1005–1006 debt relief provisions, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending October 7, 2022
Agricultural Labor: Circuit Court Reinstates Tyson Workers’ COVID-19 Claims Against Employer 🌾
On October 3, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion reversing orders from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which dismissed and failed to remand back to Texas state court a complaint filed by forty-one Tyson Foods’ employees against Tyson for “failure to institute protective measures against COVID-19” at Tyson’s Amarillo, Texas plant. Wazelle v. Tyson Foods, No. 22-10061; 2:20-cv-00203 (N.D. Tex.). The Fifth Circuit concluded, consistent with the holding in its July […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending September 30, 2022
Industrial Hemp: Hemp Farmer Files Federal Suit Against South Carolina For Arrest and Crop Destruction
On September 16, 2022, South Carolina hemp farmer John Trenton Pendarvis filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina against numerous executive branch officials alleging due process violations and conspiracy for Pendarvis’s arrest and the seizure and destruction of Pendarvis’s hemp crop in September 2019. Pendarvis v. Wilson, No. 2:22-cv-03142. Pendarvis was arrested and his hemp crop was destroyed without notice or a hearing after a July 2019 inspection revealed that the crop was planted on coordinates different […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending September 23, 2022
Dairy Policy: Pennsylvania’s Over-Order Premium Continues But ‘Should be Modified’ 🌾
On September 21, 2022, the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board (PMMB) entered a new 90-day over-order premium (OOP) order (OGO No. A-1014), as opposed to its customary 180-day order. The order continues Pennsylvania’s OOP at $1.00 cwt for the period October 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022. The order followed an August 30, 2022, hearing on a petition to consider the “level and duration” as well as the “existence” of the OOP. The current OOP mandates a producer price premium over the federal order price through a calculation intended […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending Sept. 16, 2022
Pesticides/Herbicides: Federal Court Hears Proposals for Resolving Multidistrict Roundup Litigation 🌾
On September 1, 2022, representatives of Plaintiffs’ leadership group and Defendant Bayer (as successor in interest to Monsanto) filed a Joint Case Management Statement in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in the multi-district litigation (MDL) captioned In Re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation, No. 16-md-2741, heard by Judge Vince Chhabria. The case consolidates the management of all federal products liability cases pending against Bayer alleging Roundup as the cause of the plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. According to the statement: (a) 3,266 pending cases in the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending Sept. 9, 2022
Pesticides/Herbicides: Bayer Wins Fifth Consecutive State Court Roundup Trial 🌾
On September 1, 2022, after a trial which began on August 3, a St. Louis County, Missouri state court jury returned a defense verdict after only a few hours of deliberation in favor of herbicide manufacturer Monsanto (Bayer’s predecessor in interest) finding that exposure to the glyphosate-containing herbicide Roundup did not cause the three separate plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkins’ lymphoma (NHL) in the consolidated case of Alesi, et al. v. Monsanto, 19SL-CC03617. This result totals five consecutive state court defense verdicts in cases taken to trial—two in Missouri, two in California, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending September 2, 2022
Agricultural Data: USDA Announces 2022 Census of Agriculture Details 🌾
On August 29, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced that the agency will soon be mailing and accepting questionnaires for the 2022 Census of Agriculture. The Census of Agriculture includes all sizes of urban and rural farm operations that produced and sold at least $1,000 worth of agricultural products. The census will survey producers on multiple issues, including land use and ownership, producer characteristics, farming practices, and income and expenses. The 2022 survey contains new questions on hemp production, hair sheep, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending August 26, 2022
Organic Agriculture: USDA Announces $300 Million for New Organic Transition Initiative 🌾
On August 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $300 million for a new Organic Transition Initiative to provide mentoring, direct assistance, and supply chain support for farmers transitioning to organic production. As a prerequisite to organic certification, lands generating organic-certified crops must be free from prohibited inputs, such as synthetic pesticides, for 36 months, during which time “farmers face challenging technical, cultural, and market shifts,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. The announced funds will provide
- $100 Million over five years in cooperative agreements with non-profit […]
