I am always amazed by the number of important agricultural law issues that seem to happen over the holiday break. This year was no exception.  Here is a look at some of the key agricultural law stories over the past couple of weeks from around the country.

Photo by Federica Giusti on Unsplash

*Biden administration releases final WOTUS Rule.  The Biden administration released the pre-publication version of their “Waters of the United States” definition.  The 600-page document goes into significant detail about the new regulatory definition.  The Rule will be effective 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.  Lawsuits will certainly follow.  [Read Rule here.]  Of course, we will have both a blog post summary and a podcast episode coming in the near future.

*North Carolina Supreme Court will not hear appeal in Right to Farm case.  In a case we’ve been watching for several years out of North Carolina, an appellate court decision upholding the constitutionality of the North Carolina Right to Farm statute will stand as the state’s Supreme Court has denied a petition for review.  [Read article here.]

*Federal appellate court will reconsider opinion in Round Up case.  The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has announced it will reconsider it’s October 28, 2022 ruling relating to the interaction between federal pesticide law and state failure-to-warn claims.  The court’s October 28 opinion reversed a district court decision that found the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act pre-empts state failure to warn claims in a case brought by a Georgia resident claiming that Round Up caused his cancer.  The plaintiff claims that Bayer should have included a cancer warning label on its Round Up product, and the failure to do so violated state law.  Bayer argues that doing so would have violated FIFRA as it would conflict with its EPA-approved label.  The case will now be heard en banc (meaning before the all judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit).  [Read article here.]

*Proposed consent decree released in Texas v. New Mexico water law case.  The proposed consent decree in Texas v. New Mexico has been released.  Remember, the states have agreed to this, but the United States, which intervened in the case, objects.  A hearing on this will occur in February.  [Read proposed decree here.]

*John Deere and American Farm Bureau Federation sign memorandum of understanding addressing right to repair.  The American Farm Bureau Federation and John Deere have entered into a memorandum of understanding under which John Deere has agreed to provide electronic access to the manuals, software, and tools “necessary for operation, maintenance, repair, or upgrade” of its equipment. Additionally, John Deere has agreed to provide access to codes and data from an individual machine “on reasonable and fair terms.”  To read the MOU, click here.  To read an article by my friends at the Center for Ag Law and Taxation at Iowa State, click here.

Upcoming Presentations

I already have a full slate of programs planned for 2023 with even more to come.  To see my complete list of upcoming presentations, click here.

2023 Sponsors

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