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Dear Friends and Colleagues, |
Greetings,
I hope everyone is doing well and got off to a great start in 2021. As we prepared this quarter’s newsletter, someone reminded me that my work at the Center began nearly twenty years ago to this very day. It seems like yesterday, honestly; and, January 2021 somehow seems farther back in my mind than twenty years ago. It’s breathtaking to think about how much laws impacting the agriculture and food sectors have changed and expanded during that time. Likewise, it’s breathtaking to consider how much the Center has changed during that time. At one point in those early days, the Center had one attorney (yours truly). Today, the Center has a far more robust staff that includes a communications expert, two Senior Staff Attorneys a team of Staff Attorneys specializing in ag finance and credit, environmental law, food safety & labeling, and nearly two dozen Research Fellows located throughout the United States.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Eighth Annual Mid-South Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference. It was a great program, and plans are already underway for the ninth annual conference. We’re looking forward to being back in Memphis and in person next year. Be sure to watch for a save the date in the coming weeks. Finally, a special thanks to the Mid-South Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers for sponsoring this year’s Mid-South conference.
The 2021 Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA) annual meeting was held in Little Rock, Arkansas this year. Congratulations to Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward and his team for hosting such an excellent conference. The Center was proud to be a part of such a great program.
This past quarter has featured a variety of webinars focused on different topics in and around agricultural and environmental law. We started the quarter with a webinar in our Focus on Food series, Legislation That Would Change Meat Processing, presented by Senior Staff Attorney Elizabeth Rumley. We’ve also launched a Considering Carbon series, which included the webinar Opportunities and Challenges Agriculture Faces in the Climate Debate and The Evolution and Operation of Carbon Markets. Other webinars in the past quarter addressed high-capacity water well regulations, federal milk marketing orders, and current dairy risk management tools. Upcoming programs will address foreign ownership of agricultural land, voluntary approaches to water pollution, and the regulation of cryptoassets in the carbon market space. To learn more about our webinar series click here.
Thank you, again, for your interest in the National Agricultural Law Center. It has been, and remains, an honor to serve the nation’s agricultural community by providing agricultural and food law research and information.
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NALC Quarterly Updates: Q1 & Q2 |
The Quarterly Report is a quarter-by-quarter, comprehensive but not necessarily exhaustive, summary of notable federal and state-level regulatory, legislative, and judicial agricultural and food law legal developments.
You can find the Ag & Food Law Quarterly Report for the first quarter of 2021 here.
The Ag & Food Law Quarterly Report for the second quarter of 2021 can be found here. |
Harrison Pittman Celebrates 20 Years at the National Agricultural Law Center! |
Four presidential administrations, just as many Farm Bills, the dramatic evolution of agricultural technology, significant shifts in farm programs and producer support, and so much more. Two decades have brought major changes to the field of agricultural law. Director Harrison Pittman has seen it all, as this quarter marked his 20th anniversary at the National Agricultural Law Center.
Since joining the NALC staff in 2001 and becoming its director in 2007, Pittman has continuously served the agricultural public through the development of neutral, fact-based agricultural law resources. He's also been the source of laughter, thought-provoking conversations, and too many squirrel hunting stories to count.
Chuck Culver, an Associate Director at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, believes that Pittman's tenure at the National Agricultural Law Center only contributes to his position as a leader in the agricultural law and policy space.
"Harrison has a national reputation built upon high-quality, unbiased, trusted research and information", Culver said. "Coupled with great communication skills, a servant’s heart, determination, and clear vision, he has positioned the National Agricultural Law Center at the forefront of the agricultural and food law community."
Thank you, HP, for your commitment to the National Agricultural Law Center- we are all looking forward to the continued growth and development of coming years!
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Eighth Annual Mid-South Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference: June 10-11, 2021 |
The Eighth Annual Mid-South Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference was held via an online platform on June 10-11, 2021.
The conference featured invited speakers discussing a wide range of agricultural and food law topics such as the topics below:
- Agricultural Law & Policy In Washington, D.C.
- Legal Ethics
- Agricultural Economy/Market Outlook
- Agricultural Tax & Estate Planning Update
Conference speakers included:
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Greg Cole, President, and CEO of AgHeritage Farm Credit Services
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Mark Daniel Maloney, Blackburn, Maloney, and Schuppert, LLC; Immediate Former Rotary International President
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Judge Stephen Vaden, US Court of International Trade, former USDA General Counsel
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Mac Williamson, Williamson Law + Policy, PLLC
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Paul W. Keith, Gibson & Keith, Arkansas Bar Association President
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Kristine Tidgren, Director, Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation, Iowa State University
Find an overview of the conference, as well as conference materials here.
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Updated States' Compilation: Animal Cruelty & Farm Animal Confinement Charts:
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Some of the most recently updated resources published by the NALC are the Updated States' Farm Animal Confinement & Animal Cruelty Charts.
Each state has enacted statutes to punish individuals who engage in cruelty to animals. While there are many similar characteristics, the actual codified provisions vary drastically from state to state. Familiarity with these statutes is essential to anyone who interacts with animals–from recreational hunting to raising livestock, from owning a pet to living alongside wild animals. You can find the Updated States' Compilation for Animal Cruelty here.
Whether through typical legislative channels or as a result of a ballot initiative, several states have enacted laws that are concerned with farm animal confinement. While the majority of these laws require that farm animals be given a certain amount of space, others reserve the right to make those rules either to the state legislature or to a board put into place to address those issues. As a result of the wide variety of statutes, the statutory language contained in each differs greatly. States’ Farm Animal Confinement Statutes provides the statutory text of each state’s laws, along with the date on which it becomes effective. You can find the Updated States' Compilation for Farm Animal Confinement here.
These interactive charts allow users to click on their desired state and read an in-depth report about the state's statutes. For each state, the charts summarize the state’s statutorily enacted farm animal confinement and animal cruelty laws.
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"Every Third Wednesday Webinar Series" |
We are happy to have continued our popular webinar series with a variety of presentations, both this past quarter and upcoming. Find recordings of all past webinars here.
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On April 7th, NALC Senior Staff Attorney, Elizabeth Rumley presented, "Focus on Food: Legislation That Would Change Meat Processing." The processing of livestock is governed on a national level by the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Similarly, the processing of poultry is governed by the Poultry Products Inspection Act. In those laws, USDA-FSIS is given primary authority for oversight of meat products that will be offered for sale. That authority, however, may be designated to a state agency in those states that chose to apply for such authority.
While providing an outline of the current regulatory structure, this webinar primarily focused on the federal and state policy proposals that would change the requirements, standards, and oversight of slaughter and processing facilities.
You can find a recording of this webinar here.
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On April 21st, the NALC hosted the webinar, "Opportunities and Challenges Agriculture Faces in the Climate Debate." Almost every month, companies of various sizes across many industries announce new sustainability commitments and programs that farmers and ranchers can participate in. Advancements in technology and increased capital have expanded opportunities for farmers and ranchers to generate revenue via these emerging sustainability markets. But with so many options and potential partners, it may be difficult to get all the information you need to sign a contract.
This webinar discussed how policy initiatives and collaboration through broad coalitions brought agriculture to this point, explained what agriculture ecosystem credit markets are and why they’re emerging so strongly now. The webinar also explored the early market participants and when and where projects are taking place and discuss contract expectations.
Andrew Walmsley and Shelby Swain Meyers, representatives from American Farm Bureau, were the presenters for this webinar.
You can find a recording of this webinar here.
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"Considering Carbon: The Evolution and Operation of Carbon Markets" was held on May 19th. This webinar provided practical and technical insight into how carbon markets practically function, and how they have evolved in recent years. This included addressing some of the basics of the industry, specifically including how sellers and buyers become connected and how the transaction itself is created and completed.
Further, the webinar provided an overview of the nature of contractual arrangements between carbon credit purchasers and landowners/operators, as well as other logistical and legal issues that often arise during this process. Finally, it offered insight into current policy proposals such as tax credits and related matters that could impact the industry moving forward. The speaker for this webinar was Chandler Van Voorhis, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ACRE Investment Management, LLC.
You can find a recording of this webinar here.
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On June 16th, the NALC hosted, "Understanding Federal Milk Marketing Orders and Current Dairy Risk Management Tools." The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service administers 11 federal milk marketing orders (FMMOs) which are authorized by statutes dating back to 1933 and which directly prescribe payment for approximately 75% of the total U.S. milk supply. Yet this is still one of the most complex topics in agricultural law.
This webinar unpacked the terminology and process surrounding the administration of current FMMOs. In addition, the common criticisms of present FMMO administration were highlighted and explored. This webinar also outlined the three current dairy risk management products: dairy margin coverage, livestock gross margin for dairy, and dairy revenue protection.
You can find a recording of this webinar here.
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The NALC hosted the webinar, "Voluntary Approaches to Agricultural Water Pollution Reduction," on July 7th. There are many contributing factors, through both point and non-point sources, to water quality impairment in the United States. Numerous agricultural groups and others are actively engaged in addressing water quality concerns throughout the country. Congress chose to address point source pollution under the Clean Water Act using a regulatory approach with mandatory and prescriptive standards and permits. Agricultural runoff pollution, on the other hand, is managed via a state-led approach that is largely voluntary.
States use a broad array of voluntary approaches that allow individuals to choose whether or how to follow a course of conduct that could reduce the negative impacts of agricultural runoff on water quality. This webinar discussed types of voluntary approaches to agricultural water pollution reduction, particularly focusing on the current state of water quality trading and adaptive management frameworks.
Linda Reid, Principal Owner of Water 356, LLC. and Benjamin Edelstein were the presenters for this webinar.
You can find a recording of this webinar here.
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The National Agricultural Law Center held a webinar on Wednesday, July 21st, that provided an overview of legal approaches to dealing with noxious weeds on farmland.
Farmers and ranchers are familiar with noxious weeds—those invasive weeds that pose threats to the environment, people, and animals. Noxious weeds have always been a concern for agriculture due to their ability to affect crop yields, soil, and livestock health. Nearly all states in the U.S. have enacted laws that list prohibited noxious weeds and assign responsibility for eradicating prohibited noxious weeds in certain circumstances. These laws aim to reduce the potential of noxious weed invasions to neighboring lands. Even so, noxious weed problems appear to be on the increase, raising questions about noxious weeds and the laws that attempt to control them.
This webinar discussed the factors that may contribute to increased occurrences of noxious weed problems on farm and ranch lands, such as herbicide resistance, changing weather patterns, and seed transference. The webinar presented different approaches to controlling noxious weeds and compared state laws addressing noxious weeds in agricultural areas. The speakers also compared various approaches for reconsidering noxious weed laws, discussing changes that may be necessary to adapt to evolving noxious weed issues. Lastly, this webinar highlighted two publications for the National Agricultural Law Center: a state compilation of noxious weeds laws and a report that reviews and recommends legal approaches to dealing with noxious weeds and their impacts on farm and ranch lands.
The presenters for this webinar were Peggy Kirk Hall and
Dr. Mark Loux of The Ohio State University.
Find a recording of this webinar here.
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The NALC's August webinar will provide a general introduction and overview of cryptoassets and underlying blockchain technologies, with a focus on applications of particular interest to agribusinesses, including environmental issues such as carbon offsets. After a short and very high-level introduction to blockchain and how cryptoassets function, the webinar will briefly review the myriad regulators active in the space. This portion of the presentation will explain considerations for persons considering creating, adopting, or utilizing cryptoassets in their business operations. The final section of the webinar will mention and briefly discuss some of the major crypto-projects that are already active with agricultural applications. This segment will be organized by considering the different kinds of functions that these projects are designed to support. To illustrate how these functions might be facilitated, the presentation will specifically consider the use of blockchain and cryptoassets to track and facilitate effective use of carbon offsets.
All three sections of the presentation track information contained in the three papers on cryptoassets and blockchain technology written for the National Agricultural Law Center. Those papers contain detailed citations and links to online resources that may be useful for a more detailed consideration of the topics raised in the webinar. There should be10-15 minutes at the end of the presentation for questions.
The presenter for this webinar will be Carol Goforth, University Professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law.
Learn more and register for this webinar here. |
The Center's September webinar will discuss an overview of federal and state Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) Programs. Development pressure in densely populated areas of the United States can be a cause of farmland consumption for residential and commercial development, which could, in turn, threaten the viability of existing farming operations. Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement programs, also known as PACE programs, are one of the legal tools that have been used at the state and federal levels to protect farmland and farming viability against development pressures. Through PACE programs, the government purchases the development rights to agricultural land in exchange for the imposition of an agricultural conservation easement upon the land.
This webinar will provide an overview of, and background for, various state and federal PACE programs, including the recent consolidation of previous federal programs into one single program called the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. The webinar also will address how land is identified, evaluated, and selected for PACE programs as well as reviewing the pros and cons of the various methods employed. With many government-purchased easements now approaching or exceeding the 25-year mark, this webinar will discuss the legal issues that have been addressed by these programs as well as the legal issues that have been raised by the continuation of these programs.
Learn more and register for this webinar here. |
As part of its mission, the Center continues to deliver webinars, articles, fact sheets, and state compilations on numerous agricultural and food law topics. These resources are free to the public and serve as a research tool for both attorneys and non-attorneys.
Blog Articles
We have kept our Ag & Food Law Blog up to date with Daily Updates, as well as weekly posts about current issues in agricultural and environmental law. Blog posts from this past quarter are outlined below.
June:
May:
April:
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