Category Archives: Federal Regulations

December 1, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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Welcome to December!  To those of you joining us for the first time from the Amarillo Farm and Ranch Show, welcome!  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. * EPA delays emissions reporting until January 22.  As we reported two weeks ago, the deadline for agricultural operations to report emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide if over 100 pounds in a 24 hour period had been November 15.  On the eve of that deadline, the EPA announced it would not require reporting… Read More →

November 17, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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We’ve made it to another Friday!  I want to welcome those of you who attended the Five States Beef Conference in Perryton, Texas last week and are joining us from that presentation. Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. *Deadline to begin reporting agricultural emissions extended by EPA awaiting court mandate.  You may remember from this prior blog post that in April, a federal court held that federal regulations exempting agricultural operations from reporting emissions of hazardous substances under two federal environmental… Read More →

November 3, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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Welcome to November!  I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Halloween.  Our family celebrated with a tractor and an elephant, both of whom received lots of candy!   Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. *John Deere wins trademark infringement claim.  Speaking of tractors, Deere & Co. recently won a trademark infringement case in Kentucky federal court.  Deere filed suit against FIMCO (Ag Spray Equipment), a company who manufactures and sells sprayers painted, you guessed it, green and yellow.  Deere has… Read More →

October 27, 2017 Ag Law Round Up

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Hello from beautiful  Louisville, Kentucky and the American Agricultural Law Association Annual Symposium.  It’s been a great week of catching up with old friends, meeting new folks, and hearing all about current ag law issues.  If you’re a law student or an attorney interested in the world of agricultural law, AALA’s symposium is a must! Meanwhile, here are some of the ag law stories in the news recently. *EPA makes changes to labels for popular new Dicamba herbicides for 2018 crop year.  On the heels of significant complaints… Read More →

September 15, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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It has been a bit of a crazy week around here and I apologize to anyone who has called or emailed and not gotten a quick response from me.  On Monday, my two year old landed in the hospital after fighting a nasty stomach virus for two weeks.  He is home and doing much better now, but as you can imagine, work got put on the back burner.  I am back in the saddle now and here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. *Number… Read More →

August 18, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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Last week I was in College Station to speak at the TAMU Beef Cattle Short Course.  Our session, titled “Ask an Ag Lawyer” featured Jim Bradbury, James Decker, Kyle Weldon, and myself and was quite a hit.  We recorded a podcast summarizing the session and sharing our favorite questions.  If you are interested in listing to that, click here.  A big thanks to Dr. Jason Cleere and his team for putting on such a wonderful event. Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this… Read More →

August 4, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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And just like that, it’s August!  Where has the summer gone? Here are some of the ag law stories making news this week. * Water war brewing in West Texas.  A rural West Texas landowner wants to drill wells, build a pipeline, and sell water to oil and gas companies some 60 miles away in the Permian Basin.  This is the situation in Van Horn, where a large landowner has sought a permit from the Culberson County Groundwater Conservation District to drill 7 wells on his 140,000 acre… Read More →

July 7, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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Amazingly enough, I stayed put here in Amarillo this week catching up on writing and podcast recording here at the office.  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. * Arkansas will ban Dicamba use for 120 days.  Following an increase in the number of pesticide drift involving the application of Dicamba in Arkansas, the Arkansas State Plant Board voted to impose a 120-day ban on the application of the dicamba “Engenia” formation in the state.  In January 2017, Xtendimax dicamba technology was banned… Read More →

May 12, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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We’ve made it to Friday yet again!  Here are some of the legal issues in the news this week. * EPA seeks input from governors on revisions to WOTUS rule.  EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt sent a letter this week to the 50 state governors seeking input from them on the re-write of the WOTUS rule.  He noted the value and importance of local input when writing the new rule.  [Read article here.] * Federal judge dismisses legal challenge to North Carolina lawsuit over Property Protection Act.  A federal… Read More →

DC Circuit Court: Farms Must Report Air Emissions, Exemption Unlawful

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In April, a major decision came out of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the Waterkeeper Alliance v. Environmental Protection Agency case.  [Read the opinion here.]  Frankly, I’ve had to brush up on my federal environmental law in order to write this blog post, so forgive my delay in getting this up. Background Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”), both federal environmental laws passed in the 1980’s, parties must notify the… Read More →