News
Court Cites Expert Testimony of Center Director in Oil & Gas Case
On June 19, 2020, the Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas issued an opinion in the case of Chito v. Pulaski Twp. Zoning Hearing Bd., (Docket 10467 of 2015), in which the court denied a substantive challenge to the township’s regulation of oil and gas drilling. In reaching this conclusion, the court cited the expert testimony of Ross Pifer on the issue of the historic compatibility of oil and gas drilling and agricultural communities in Pennsylvania.
Center Staff Featured in American Agricultural Law Association’s Agricultural Law Update
This week, center staff were featured in two sections of the American Agricultural Law Association’s Agricultural Law Update (Update). In the Update’s new Practice Tips section, staff attorney Jackie Schweichler wrote an article titled, When Litigation Doesn’t Fit – Try Agricultural Mediation. The Update also spotlights 2020 Penn State Law graduate Travis Buck for his first-place award in AALA’s 2019 Student Paper Writing Contest. AALA board member Ross Pifer presented Travis with the award for Travis’s article, Capper-Volstead & Output Restrictions: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Center Staff Attend Virtual 7th Annual Mid South Ag & Environmental Law Conference
On June 7th and 8th, 2020, Center Staff attended the two day 7th Annual Mid South Ag & Environmental Law Conference hosted online by the National Agricultural Law Center. The conference addressed a variety of agricultural law topics with national importance including agricultural lending, environmental regulations, crop insurance, and more. Presentations were provided by Greg Cole, President and CEO of AgHeritage Farm Credit Services; Wes Boyer, Partner, Boyer Terry; Autumn Veazey Price, Director, Government Relations, Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Michael Cooley, Partner, Allen Wellman McNew Harvey, LLP; Amanda Jones Tollison, Partner, Butler Snow; […]
Ross Pifer Presents in the Ag & Food Law Update Webinar
Center staff also prepared a publication entitled […]
Staff Attorney Brook Duer Joins Webinars with Penn State Extension
Over the past few weeks, Staff Attorney Brook Duer was a presenter at three webinars conducted by Penn State Extension. On April 9, he presented during the webinar entitled COVID-19 Stimulus Benefits for Sole Proprietors and Independent Contractors. On April 10, he presented at the webinar entitled COVID-19 Stimulus Benefits for Dairy Industry Farmers and Small Business. On April 22, he presented at the webinar Solar Leasing for Landowners.
Center Welcomes the Director of Child Nutrition Programs for Pennsylvania to the Agricultural Law Podcast
On March 9, 2020, the Center published a Special Episode in the Agricultural Law Podcast. In this, special episode we were delighted to welcome Vonda Cooke, State Director of Child Nutrition Programs for the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Ms. Cooke joins Audry Thompson to discuss the 2012 changes to the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs and the potential impacts of the recent January 23, 2020, proposed rule, Simplifying Meal Service and Monitoring Requirements in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
This episode, Special Episode #1. School Lunches with Vonda Cooke, can be found on most podcast […]
Center Staff Attend 71st Annual Oil and Gas Law Conference in Houston
On February 20-21, 2020, staff from Penn State’s Center for Agricultural and Shale Law attended the Institute for Energy Law’s 71st Annual Oil and Gas Law Conference in Houston, TX. During the first day of the conference, speakers addressed current issues in the energy sector including: national security, recent court rulings, ethics in negotiations, expert witnesses, royalties, M&A negotiations, and certain types of insurance. Notably, speaker Owen L. Anderson discussed a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court case involving the rule of capture and hydraulic fracturing. See, […]
