Happy Friday!  It has been a whirlwind of a month around here.  Thank you to those of you who I have seen on the road at in person presentations–it has been fun getting to connect face-to-face with so many readers.

There has been a lot of news on the agricultural law front.

Photo by Hannah Shedrow

* Lawsuit filed against Tyson “climate smart beef” claims. The Environmental Working Group has filed suit claiming that Tyson’s marketing “climate friendly” beef is misleading consumers.  Tyson sells some beef with a “climate smart” label and has made claims that it will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Plaintiffs say that Tyson has “no plan to achieve these goals and is taking no meaningful steps to do so.” [Read Complaint here and story here.]

*BASF says over-the-top dicamba products unlikely to be allowed in 2025 growing season.  A technical representative for BASF says it is unlikely that over-the-top dicamba products will be available for the 2025 growing season.  [Read article here.]  You may recall earlier this year an Arizona court vacated all of the existing labels for over-the-top dicamba products.  [Read prior blog post here.]  Currently, three companies, Bayer, BASF, and Syngenta, have applied for new labels with the EPA.

*Another lawsuit challenges constitutionality of Corporate Transparency Act.  A group of plaintiffs, including R-CALF, has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Utah challenging the legality of the Corporate Transparency Act.  [Read Complaint here.] You may recall from this prior blog post that the Corporate Transparency Act requires entities including LLCs, LPs, and corporations to file a beneficial ownership report.

*Collection of new state food laws.  Emily Stone at the National Agricultural Law Center recently published an interesting article looking at the new state-level food laws that have been passed this year around the country.  From food additives to raw milk, to cell cultured meat, there are lots of laws involving food coming out of various state legislatures.  [Read article here.]  The comment period is open through September 30. Inside Climate News published an article offering a good summary of the proposed changes.  [Read article here.]

*Texas Railroad Commission publishes proposed revised waste rules.  For the first time in 40 years, the Texas Railroad Commission (the agency regulating oil and gas production in the state) has proposed revisions to its rules related to handling oilfield waste.  [View proposed rule here.]

*Tax court finds Texas ecotourism ranch hobby, not business.  The Center for Ag Law and Taxation at Iowa State recently summarized a case involving a Texas ecotourism ranch that the US Tax Court found was carried on for hobby purposes, not business purposes.  [Read more here.]