Category Archives: Agriculture Law

A news release yesterday from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) stated that, “The [RMA] today announced a new insurance plan for dairy producers that insures against unexpected declines in quarterly milk sales. Sign-up for the new product begins Tuesday, October 9, 2018, with the first available coverage starting the first quarter of 2019. “‘Expanding the… Continue Reading

An update today from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) stated that, “[FSA] Administrator Richard Fordyce reminded producers today that the deadline to sign up for enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is Friday, Aug. 17, 2018. “‘Any agricultural producer that has eligible land should review the benefits of this program,’ said Fordyce.  ‘It removes… Continue Reading

DTN writer Elizabeth Williams reported last week that, “Even when families mostly get along, managing a transition is difficult. Family farm advisers worry recent changes to the tax code — particularly the doubling of the federal estate tax exemption to $11.2 million per individual or $22.4 million per couple — could take the pressure off… Continue Reading

Associated Press writers Alex Derosier and Emery P. Dalesio today that, “A federal jury decided Friday that the world’s largest pork producer should pay $473.5 million to neighbors of three North Carolina industrial-scale hog farms for unreasonable nuisances they suffered from odors, flies and rumbling trucks. “The jury found that Smithfield Foods owes compensation to… Continue Reading

A report yesterday from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) stated that,  “Honey bee colonies for operations with five or more colonies in the United States on January 1, 2018 totaled 2.63 million colonies, down slightly from January 1, 2017. The number of colonies in the United States on April 1, 2018 was 2.69 million… Continue Reading

An update on Monday from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) stated that, “[USDA] today announced that seed cotton producers, who want to participate in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2018 crop year, may now submit applications. The signup period begins today and ends on Dec. 7, 2018…. Continue Reading

A report on Friday from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (“EU Court Extends GMO Directive to New Plant Breeding Techniques,” by Jennifer Lappin) stated that, “On July 25, 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment that organisms created through many newer genome editing techniques are to be regulated as genetically modified organisms (GMOs)… Continue Reading

Reuters writer Ben Hirschler reported on Friday that, “Gene editing in agriculture takes center stage next Wednesday when Europe’s highest court rules in a case that could determine the fate of the technology that is already making waves in the field of medicine. “The European Union has long restricted the use of genetically modified organisms… Continue Reading

DTN writer Emily Unglesbee reported today that, “Images of cupped soybean fields have come to symbolize the dicamba injury crisis underway in farm country in the U.S. But what happens when chemicals like dicamba move beyond the soybean fields of commercial farmers onto the property of rural homeowners, business owners and organic and specialty crop… Continue Reading