Monthly Archives: August 2024

USDA To Require Electronic Tags for Certain Cattle & Bison Crossing State Lines

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a Final Rule modifying requirements for certain cattle and bison producers who ship animals across state lines.  Specifically, the Final Rule, set to go into effect on November 5, 2024, will require ear tags that are both visually and electronically readable for interstate movement of certain bison and cattle.  To hear a discussion of the new Final Rule, click here for a podcast interview I did with Chelsea Good. Here is a brief rundown of the new rule’s requirements. Who: … Read More →

August 23, 2024 Weekly Round Up

Welcome back to another Weekly Round Up where we get you caught up on some of the biggest stories in ag law news around the country. *Federal court finds FTC ban on noncompete agreements unlawful, sets rule aside in nationwide order.  A federal judge in Texas held that the FTC’s recent rule prohibiting most noncompete agreements is unlawful.  The court held that the rule went beyond the FTC’s authority and was arbitrary and capricious.  The judge issued an order setting aside the rule on a nationwide basis.  This… Read More →

Texas Supreme Court Rules in Case Involving Damages to Trees

The Texas Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in Texas Department of Transportation v. Self, a case regarding compensation for landowners when the State cut down trees on their property while maintaining an adjacent easement.  [Read Opinion here.] Background Mark and Birgit Self own a tract of land in rural Montague County.  Their property adjoins Farm-to-Market Road 677 and extends to the centerline of the road.  The State of Texas has a right-of-way easement extending 50′ from the centerline of the road in either direction.  This easement burdens… Read More →

Texas v. New Mexico – Where Are We Now?

Recently, Jesse Richardson and I co-authored an article for Southern Ag Today looking at the current status of Texas v. New Mexico and what the United States Supreme Court’s recent opinion in this case may mean for water law going forward. To read the article, click here. For additional background on the case, read here and listen here.

August 2, 2024 Weekly Round Up

It has been a fast and furious summer here, and we have fallen behind on our bi-weekly round ups.  We are here today to help get you caught up on the biggest ag law news around the country! *Court rules Massachusetts’ Question 3 is not preempted by Federal Meat Inspection Act.  A Massachusetts federal court recently ruled that Massachusetts’ Question 3, a ballot initiative banning the sale of pork that is not raised in accordance with certain practices, is not preempted by the Federal Meat Inspection Act as… Read More →