Category Archives: Federal Regulations

November 20, 2020 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Friday and Happy Thanksgiving to you all next week.  Here are a few of the ag law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks.  As you will see, there has been lots going on! *Appellate court affirms liability for compensatory and punitive damages in NC hog farm nuisance cases; Smithfield announces settlement.  Major developments happened at the end of this week in the nuisance lawsuits in North Carolina filed against Smithfield subsidiary, Murphy Brown.  First, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued… Read More →

Navigable Waters Protection Rule (aka the New WOTUS Rule)

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Disclaimer–This blog post is really detailed.  If you’re not into all the nerdy legal technicalities, I’d read the Background, Summary of WOTUS Rule v. NWPR, and What Happens Now and go on about your day.   If you have been around for a while, you know we have been following the saga surrounding the definition of “Waters of the United States” or “WOTUS” for several years.  On April 21, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency published the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), the newest regulatory definition of WOTUS.  [Read… Read More →

August 28, 2020 Weekly Round Up

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Welcome to another agricultural law weekly round up.  Here are some of the recent ag law stories in the news. *USDA issues Final Rule modifying eligibility rules to qualify for farm program payments.  The USDA Farm Service Agency issued a Final Rule making changes to eligibility requirements for farm program payments.  One expected change per the 2018 Farm Bill allows first cousins, nieces, and nephews to qualify under the definition of “family member.”  A more unexpected change dealt with modifications of definitions of “active personal management” and “significant… Read More →

May 1, 2020 Weekly Round Up

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Happy May Day to all!  I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. Here are some of the biggest ag law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. *Navigable Waters Protection Rule is published.  The WOTUS saga continues.  The Trump administration’s definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, newly named “Navigable Waters Protection Rule,” was published in the Federal Register on April 21.  I’ll have a blog post discussing the details soon, but for now if you want to read… Read More →

November 1, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Halloween!  Here is a look at how trick or treating in went in my house with our unicorn and feed sack.   Here are a few ag law stories in the news over the past couple of week. *USDA released Interim Final Hemp Rule.  The much-anticipated USDA rule related to hemp production was released on Wednesday.  To read my summary of the proposed rule, click here.  Also, Dr. Justin Benavidez wrote a great summary of some of the economic info included in the “costs and benefits” section… Read More →

USDA Interim Final Hemp Rule Summary

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UPDATE: On February 27, 2020, the USDA announced that it will temporarily delay enforcement of two provisions of the Interim Final Rule on hemp production. until October 31, 2021 or the publication of the Final Rule, whichever is earlier.  First, the DEA will delay enforcing the requirement that THC testing must be conducted at DEA registered laboratories.  Instead, testing may be conducted by labs that are not yet DEA registered.  Second, USDA will delay enforcement of the requirement that producers use a DEA-registered reverse distrubutor or law enforcement… Read More →

October 18, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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It’s time for another ag law weekly round up! I’d like to be sure and welcome those of you joining us from recent programs I spoke at in Brenham and College Station.  We’re glad you’re here. Here are some of the stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. * Kinder Morgan & City of Kyle settle lawsuit over ordinance preventing Permian Highway pipeline. You may recall from this prior post that the City of Kyle recently passed an ordinance requiring pipelines over 30″ in diameter to… Read More →

June 14, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the world of agricultural law.  I want to welcome those of you who I met at speaking events for the Hill Country Cattle Women in Fredericksburg and the Owning Your Piece of Texas Ag Law Workshop in San Antonio.  If you’d like to see an article  and short video about our Owning Your Piece of Texas program, click here. Here are some of the major ag law stories in the news over the past two weeks. *Lawsuit filed against US… Read More →

May 3, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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Happy May!  Welcome to this week’s Agricultural Law Round Up. It’s been a busy couple of weeks, but I want to say welcome to those of you who I met presenting in Canadian, Burnet, and Kerrville!  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. *Settlement offer in Maui County v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund could remove case from SCOTUS docket.  This week, news broke that a settlement offer had been made by plaintiffs in the Maui County  Clean Water Act case, which… Read More →

2018 Ag Law Year in Review

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Well, it’s been quite a year for agricultural law!  Looking back, it has been interesting to see the variety of legal issues that have come up in the last 365 days.  From a major class action settlement by Syngenta to new electronic logging device rules to nuisance litigation in North Carolina, there are numerous issues of which agricultural producers should be aware. If you want to hear more about these topics, Paul Goeringer and I did a Year in Review joint podcast.  You can listen here.  {Since we… Read More →