Category Archives: Hemp

Video Summary of USDA Interim Final Hemp Rule

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Last week, Dr. Justin Benavidez and I sat down to talk through some of the key provisions included in the just-released USDA Interim Final Hemp Rule.  To hear our thoughts on the highlight of the rule–both from a legal and economic perspective–take a look at the video below. If you want to read a more detailed discussion of the rule, click here.  If you would like to see a great summary on the “benefits and costs of production” section of the rule, click here for Dr. Benavidez’ blog… Read More →

USDA Interim Final Hemp Rule Summary

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After months of anticipation, the USDA has released its Interim Final Hemp Production Rule (IFR).  [Read full document here.]  This blog post is an attempt to summarize some of the key provisions included in the IFR.  To me, the three issues that jumped out were the 15-day window for testing prior to harvest, the new concept of “acceptable hemp THC level” with regard to THC testing, and the compliance provisions related to negligent violations. What is this regulation? This is an interim final rule with request for comments… Read More →

September 20, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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Hello and Happy Friday!  I want to welcome those of you joining us from our recent Owning Your Piece of Texas program in College Station and our Ranchers Leasing Workshop in Ft. Worth.  Also, welcome to those of you from Goliad County where I beamed in for a program yesterday. Here are some ag law stories in the news the past couple of weeks. *2015 WOTUS Rule Repealed.  You may have seen in the news that the EPA has issued the final rule repealing the 2015 WOTUS definition. … Read More →

July 19, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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It’s been a busy week on the ag law front in Texas.  Here are some of the stories in the news this week. *Texas water battle featured in Wall Street Journal.  A water fight in Pecos County was featured in a Wall Street Journal article this week.  The article does a good job illustrating the tensions between landowners, agricultural producers, oil and gas companies, and Texas law.  [Read article here.] *New law allows killing feral hogs without hunting license.  As of September 1, 2019, no hunting license is… Read More →

June 28, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Friday!  Today, I’m speaking in Crockett at our “Owning Your Piece of Texas: Top Laws Texas Landowners Need to Know” program.  You’ve only got two more chances to catch one of these free events–Cat Spring on August 26 and College Station on September 12.  For more info click here and to register click here. Here are some ag law stories in the news from the last couple of weeks. *Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Kinder Morgan Permian Highway pipeline.  You may recall from this prior blog post that… 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 31, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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We’ve reached the end of May…I’m not sure how time goes so quickly.  Here are a few ag law stories in the news recently. *Texas judge finds 2015 WOTUS Rule violated Administrative Procedures Act.  A federal judge here in Texas found that the 2015 WOTUS rule violated the Administrative Procedures Act.  Specifically, the judge found that the proposed rule, for which public comment was allowed, differed too greatly from the final rule.  In other words, because there were portions of the final rule that were significantly modified from… Read More →