National Agricultural Law Center
Quarterly eNewsletter

Second Quarter, 2017
 
 
Components



 

  Estate Planning

  Finance & Credit

  Food Labeling

  Food Safety

   Forestry

  International Trade

  Labor

  Landowner Liability

  Marketing Orders

  Nat'l Organic Prog.

  Native American Ag

  Packers & Stockyards

  PACA

  Pesticides

  Production Contracts

  Secured Transactions

   Specialty Crops  

  Sustainable Ag

  Urban Encroachment 

   Water Law  

 


AgLaw Reporter

  Case Law Indexes

  State Compilations  

  AgLaw Updates

  USDA JO Decisions


 
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
 
As always, it is a great pleasure to share updates about the Center.  In preparing this quarter's letter, it occurred to me that almost exactly 10 years ago I was appointed Director of the Center, after 6 years of working here in various other capacities.  Time flies!  The evolution of legal issues affecting agriculture and of the Center itself during those years has been quite profound, to say the least.  
 
Three farm bills were enacted during those years, and formulation of the next farm bill is already underway.  The role of environmental litigation has increased tremendously under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and several federal and state laws.   The Food Safety Modernization Act signified the most significant overhaul of U.S. food safety law in nearly 100 years.   We've seen the rise of "big data" in agriculture, new implementation of states' right-to-farm laws, and via the recent R-CALF decision have come full circle on issues regarding the constitutionality of the beef research and promotion program.  We've witnessed the real world impact of the World Trade Organization and other aspects of international trade during those years as well.  And that's just scratching the surface.
 
The Center has evolved as well, in order to maintain its mission of serving as the nation's leading source of agricultural and food law research and information.  We created, and then recreated, the Center's website.  Website resources have been expanded to include new Reading Rooms, the Agricultural Law Bibliography, the Case Law Indexes, a monthly webinar series, the use of social media to disseminate information, the quarterly ag and food law updates and the only freely available online database of agriculture-related Congressional Research Service Reports.  We have launched new national partnerships, including the Agricultural & Food Law Consortium, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review, and other collaborations.  And in June of 2018, we will hold the Fifth Annual Mid-South Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference in Memphis, Tennessee. 
 
When I began as director, the role of the Center was much more limited in focus, scope and collaboration than it is today.  The changes that have occurred in the past decade have been incredible, and I'm looking forward to seeing the improvements and growth that the future brings.  It's been a great ride so far, and our best days are still yet to come.
 
As always, we want to thank you for being involved in our current endeavors, and we hope that you'll stay with us to be a part of our future as well!  Learn more about what we're doing via our website, Twitter,  Facebook, and the  Agricultural & Food Law Blog .  We sincerely appreciate your interest in the Center, and welcome your input and suggestions on how continue improving through the coming decade and beyond. 
 
Sincerely, 
Harrison Pittman Signature   
Center Director 
Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference
 
Our fourth annual conference was a great success.  We would like to thank both our attendees and our sponsors, especially AgWatch Network.  

The reception at Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous on June 8 th was well received, and we intend to make this an annual tradition as we move into planning for next year's conference.  The program, which drew around 85 attendees, covered common estate planning mistakes, secured transactions in a down farm economy, mitigation and conservation program compliance.  Additionally, Robert Serio gave an insightful and informative ethics presentation using examples that he has witnessed throughout his career.  

We have already begun the planning process for the fifth annual conference, expected to be held in Memphis in early June of next year.  If you would like to be placed on the email list for notifications about the conference, or if you have  ideas on topics, speakers, or sponsors, please contact Senior Staff Attorney Rusty Rumley .   
Consortium Quarterly Update
  
Since the beginning of the year, there have been a number of significant legal developments in the agricultural sector. Many of these issues will continue to play out over the next year and will impact agriculture throughout the country. Notably, there were important developments involving the WOTUS Rule, dicamba registration, and checkoff programs .

In this light, the Agricultural and Food Law Consortium has compiled a review of some of these developments, with links for additional resources. Led by the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC), the Consortium is a four-university partnership designed to enhance and expand the development and delivery of authoritative, timely, and objective agricultural and food law research and information.

A copy of the First Quarter 2017 Update is available here .

Consortium News: Webinar Series 
 
As part of its mission, the Agricultural & Food Law Consortium  continues to host a series of webinars on numerous agricultural and food law topics.  These webinars are freely available to the general public and are typically designed to be appropriate for both attorneys and non-attorneys. 

Recent: 
During this past quarter, three webinars were held for the general public.  In April, Paul Neiffer, a CPA and Principal with the AgriBusiness Group of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, discussed "Ag Taxation and Reform: What You Need to Know."  For more information on his presentation, including a link to view the recorded webinar, click here.  

In May, Alexandra Chase with the National Sea Grant Law Center and Ross Pifer, the director of the Center for Agricultural and Shale Law at PSU, presented a webinar on "AquaAdvantage Salmon and Other Current Issues in GMO Regulation.  More information on their presentation is available  here.    

June presenters were Peggy Kirk Hall, with The OSU Agricultural Law and Taxation Program, along with Carrie Klumb, a senior epidemiologist in the Zoonotic Diseases Unit at the Minnesota Department of Health.  They discussed"Agritourism, Zoonotic Diseases and Legal Liability." More specifically, they examined agritourism and diseases transmitted by animals from both the scientific and legal perspectives.  More information and their recorded webinar are available  here. 


Upcoming:

Four webinars are also scheduled so far for the current quarter.  The July webinar featured Jesse Richardson, a Professor at the West Virginia College of Law.  His webinar, which ran live on July 19th, gave an overview on "The Basics of Water Law and Its Relationship to Agriculture" For more information on his presentation, including a link to view the recorded webinar, click here.  

In August, Robert Moore, a principal with Wright and Moore Law Co. LPA, along with Chris Hogan, a Law Fellow with The OSU's Agricultural Law & Taxation Program, will present a webinar titled "Using LLCs in Agriculture: Beyond Liability Protection". More information on their presentation is available here.    

The first September presenter will again be Jesse Richardson.  He'll be giving a "Water Law Update," which will summarize recent legislative developments and case law regarding topics such as exempt wells, water rights and regulatory takings.  More information on his presentation is available here.  

The second September presenter will be  Stephanie Showalter Otts, director of the National Sea Grant Law Center.  She will discuss "Tackling the Challenge of Invasive Species to Reduce Impacts to Agriculture," including an overview of the recent D.C. Circuit Court decision in  U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers v. Zinke .   For more information on this upcoming webinar, click  here .   

In the coming year, the Consortium will continue to host monthly public webinars on topics that are important and/or timely to agricultural law.  A listing of upcoming webinars and links to the archived records will remain available here. 
Briefing Congressional Staffers in D.C.

On June 22, Harrison Pittman, Rusty Rumley, and Elizabeth Rumley traveled to Washington D.C. for the quarterly update to Congressional staffers about emerging legal and policy issues from across the country.  The meeting, held in the Senate Agricultural Committee Hearing Room, was  hosted by Senator Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Senator John Boozman,  Chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management and Trade.  

Topics covered included state UAV laws, checkoff programs, an environmental case law update, and a discussion of state laws and regulations that have been recently enacted. There were around forty staffers present in the Senate Agriculture Committee Room during the morning briefing, and many stayed after to discuss individual questions with the NALC attorneys.  As always, it was a productive and eventful trip to D.C..  
Focus on Outreach
  
Center staff has given multiple presentations to a wide range of audiences over the past quarter.  You can see some recent examples below. If you're interested in learning more about any of the topics below, or in having Center staff present at a conference or webinar you're sponsoring, please  contact us.
  
In-person presentations:
  • Harrison Pittman spoke in Lubbock, TX at the 11th Annual John Huffaker Course in Agricultural Law.  In addition, Rusty Rumley and Elizabeth Rumley attended the meeting, held in late May, on behalf of the Center.
  • Harrison traveled to The Dalles, OR in May, speaking with participants at the Oregon Bar Association meeting on Trends & Updates in Agricultural Law.
  • Rusty spoke with a group of farmer veterans about landowner liability and business organizations at the "Armed to Farm" Conference in Fayetteville, AR, in June.
  • Harrison traveled to Pittsburg, PA in June, giving the American Farm Bureau Federation LINC Conference an Agricultural Law Litigation Update
  • Rusty and Harrison attended a listening session on potential changes to agricultural tax exemptions in Brinkley, AR, in June. 
  • In April, Harrison discussed checkoff programs with the State Executive Directors of Qualified State Soybean Boards in Lexington, KY.
  • Elizabeth, Harrison and Rusty met with congressional staffers in Washington D.C. to discuss current and emerging issues in agricultural law in June.
  • Harrison discussed Farm Business Law at an NBI Conference in Little Rock, AR in June.
  • In June, Rusty, Harrison and Elizabeth participated in an "agricultural law update" webinar with the Eastern, Midwestern and Southern regions of Council of State Governments, and State Agriculture and Rural Leaders.
  • Harrison, Rusty, Elizabeth, and Mark Camarigg organized and administered the Mid-South CLE in Memphis, TN in June.  Harrison moderated a panel on Ag & Environmental Law on which Rusty participated.   
  • In May, Harrison was in Indianapolis, IN giving an Agricultural Law Update & Overview at the Planting the Seed 2017: Emerging Trends and Opportunities in the Agriculture and Food Industries conference.