Category Archives: Immigration

December 4, 2020 Weekly Round Up

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Happy December! Here are a few of the biggest ag law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. *Dairy farmers receiving letters seeking repayment of funds from Dean Foods.  Many dairy farmers who sold milk to Dean Foods prior to its bankruptcy filing  have been receiving letters recently from ASK, LLC.  Essentially, these letters note that the recipient received some payment from Dean Foods within the 90-days prior to its bankruptcy filing.  After visiting with an ag bankruptcy attorney who has reviewed the letters, he… 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 →

April 3, 2020 Weekly Round Up

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Here is a list of some of the recent agricultural law stories in the news. *Montana Court upholds constitutionality of beef checkoff.  The biggest story of the last couple of weeks was a trial court ruling in the beef checkoff litigation.  The United States District Court for the District of Montana found in favor of USDA and the Montana Beef Council, holding that the advertising and promotional speech of the Montana Beef Council (and similar organizations in 14 other states) constituted government speech given USDA oversight.  Thus, the… 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 *2015 WOTUS Rule Repealed.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 →

September 6, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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You may have noticed I’ve been a little bit MIA here and on social media.  I spent three weeks in August in and out of the hospital with a medical issue, but I’m feeling much better and am back in the saddle.  I’ve got an overwhelming number of emails and voicemails from my absence, but am working on getting back to folks as soon as possible. I want to be sure and welcome those of you joining the blog from Beef Cattle Short Course, the Owning Your Piece… Read More →

August 2, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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Welcome to August!  I’m not sure how the summer has flown by, but here we are.  These are a few of the ag law stories in the news this week. *Second round of Market Facilitation Program payment rates announced.  Last week, the USDA announced payments for round 2 of the Market Facilitation Program.  These payments are designed to provide assistance to farmers of commodities impacted by “unjustified foreign retaliatory tariffs, resulting in the loss of traditional export markets.”  Payment rates have been set per county for qualifying crops. … Read More →

January 12, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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It was a busy week around here as I traveled to Nashville to speak at the American Farm Bureau Federation Conference.  It was my first time to be on the same agenda as the President, so that was quite exciting!  To those of you joining from that conference, welcome to the blog!  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week.   * US Supreme Court will not hear Endangered Species Act case involving Utah prairie dog.  You may remember a case in Utah where… Read More →

Difference Between an ICE Audit & an ICE Raid: Are You Prepared?

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Numerous businesses–both agricultural and others–have faced audits or raids conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent years. Dr. Ellen Jordan, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Dairy Specialist, and I published a fact sheet outlining the difference between an ICE audit and an ICE raid and discussing what a business owner should do to be adequately prepared in the event either of these occur.  From putting policies in place long before ICE ever knocks on the door, to understanding the legal rights afforded to a business facing an audit… Read More →

October 6, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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This week I traveled to Fredericksburg for the Bennett Trust Women’s Stewardship Conference and to Johnson City for the Pedernales Wildlife Management Co-Op Meeting.  This trip, I had a two-year old sidekick with me who thoroughly enjoyed the fun.  Welcome to those of you joining from these programs. Here are some of the ag law stories in the news. * Farm program payments under ARC/PLC are going out beginning this week.  Those of you enrolled in the ARC and PLC programs keep an eye on your mailboxes.  The… Read More →