Category Archives: Agriculture Law

DTN Special Correspondent Elizabeth Williams reported recently that, “Although farm finances are tight for the fifth year in a row and the cash flow outlook is grim, farm tenants are generally honoring their leases this spring, real estate experts said, and land values appear to be holding steady. “When most cash rents were paid on… Continue Reading

A news release this week from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) stated that, “Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) may allow organic producers to report acreage as certified organic, or transitioning to organic, for the 2020 crop year if they can show they have requested a written certification from a certifying agent by their policy’s acreage reporting… Continue Reading

A news release today from USDA stated that, “U.S. Secretary Perdue today applauded the decision made by the District Court of Western Missouri which ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has the primary jurisdiction over worker’s safety in meat processing plants across the country during the COVID-19 national emergency. “‘This ruling affirms… Continue Reading

Reuters writers Omar Younis and Dan Whitcomb reported yesterday that, “Hundreds of Asian giant hornets, an invasive, predatory insect dubbed the ‘murder hornet,’ have turned up in Washington state near the Canadian border, where they pose a threat to humans and the beekeeping industry, state agriculture officials said on Monday. “The stinging Vespa mandarinia can… Continue Reading

A news release Friday from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) stated that, “The [USDA] has started making payments through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program – Plus (WHIP+) to agricultural producers who suffered eligible losses because of drought or excess moisture in 2018 and 2019. Signup for these causes of loss opened March 23,… Continue Reading

A news release this week from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) stated that, “[FSA] will open signup this summer for CLEAR30, a new pilot program that offers farmers and landowners an opportunity to enroll in a 30-year Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract. This pilot is available to farmers and landowners with expiring water-quality practice CRP… Continue Reading

DTN writer Todd Neeley reported last week that, “Agriculture interest groups and companies have filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit that challenges EPA’s interim registration of the herbicide glyphosate. “In a motion filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on [April 20], the ag groups… Continue Reading

Reuters writer Lawrence Hurley reported yesterday that, “The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected arguments by President Donald Trump’s administration seeking to limit the reach of a landmark water pollution law in a Hawaii dispute over wastewater indirectly discharged into the Pacific Ocean – a ruling hailed by environmentalists. “The case involves whether Hawaii’s Maui… Continue Reading

A news release yesterday from USDA’s Farm Service Agency stated that, “Producers signed a record 1.77 million contracts for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2019 crop year, which is more than 107 percent of the total contracts signed compared with a 5-year average…. Continue Reading

Reuters writer Lianne Back reported today that, “A mechanical hum replaced the buzzing of the bees in one Israeli community this season as farmers, concerned over the global drop in bee populations, tried out a new method of pollinating their crops. “Through an almond orchard in the area of Tel Arad in a desert plain… Continue Reading