December 20, 2024 Weekly Round Up

We have reached our final Weekly Round Up of 2024. We would like to take a moment to thank all of you who read the Texas Agriculture Law Blog. We appreciate your support of our work and your interest in agricultural law.

With that, let’s jump into the stories in the news the past couple of weeks.

Photo by Adam Nemeroff

*”The path forward is not remotely clear” on aid package for agriculture. Congress has gone back to the drawing board on a spending bill that would fund the government and include an aid package to help farmers and ranchers and an extension of the current Farm Bill through September 30, 2025. On Wednesday afternoon, President-elect Trump issued a statement opposing the bill, and media outlets report that Speaker Johnson is looking at other options to fund the government ahead of the Friday shutdown. President-elect Trump did, however, note that he does support providing aid to agricultural producers, but not in the way it was structured in the proposed bill. [Read articles here and here.]

*FinCEN issues statement on Corporate Transparency Act injunction. As you recall from last week’s updated blog post, a Texas court issued a nationwide injunction pausing the enforceability and deadlines for beneficial ownership reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act. FinCEN issued a statement saying it continues to believe the law is constitutional, but that while the injunction is in place, companies are not required to report their beneficial ownership to FinCEN and, therefore, will not be subject to liability for failing to do so. Reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit the reports. [Read Statement here.]

*Piercing the corporate veil. Robert Moore at Ohio State University wrote a great article on what it means to “pierce the corporate veil” and what entities should do to avoid this happening. If you have an LLC, limited partnership, corporation, etc. this article is a must-read! [Read article here.]

*Arizona sues dairy operation for overuse of groundwater. The State of Arizona filed suit against Fondomonte Arizona, LLC, a Saudi-owned company that has a dairy operation in western Arizona. Arizona claims the company’s groundwater pumping to irrigate its alfalfa fields caused “a significant decline” in groundwater levels in the basin, resulted in subsidence, contributed to the water quality, and threatened the water supply. The state claims these actions constitute a public nuisance and seeks an injunction. [Read article here.]

*Federal judge issues nationwide injunction of rule giving safety protections and organizing rights to H-2A farmworkers. A federal judge in Mississippi issued a nationwide injunction blocking a rule giving safety protections and organizing rights to temporary farmworkers finding the plaintiffs likely to succeed on their challenge that the Department of Labor exceeded its authority in passing the rule. Other courts previously issued injunctions in their specific states and for certain groups involved in the litigation, but this decision applies nationwide. [Read article here.]

*California court vacates rules on genetically engineered crops. A federal judge in California has vacated a 2020 USDA rule that exempted genetically engineered crops from regulation. Industry representatives say this decision will likely delay approval of genetically engineered crops, such as those engineered with traits to resist herbicides. [Read article here and Order here.]

*US Fish and Wildlife proposes monarch butterfly to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. THE USFWS announced it will propose listing the monarch butterfly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Public comment on this proposed listing is open until March 12, 2025. The proposal would also designate portions of California as critical habitat for the species. [Read press release here.]

*Fall stock show update. I know many of you enjoy following my kids and their livestock shows. We have had a busy and successful fall in the show ring, including a great showing at the TriState Fair, several banners and a sale qualification at the State Fair of Texas, and multiple belt buckles at the Top O’ Texas Jackpot show last weekend. I appreciate everyone’s interest and support of this activity!