Mid-South Farm & Gin Show February 26 & 27 in Memphis

Posted February 17, 2016

The 64th Annual Mid-South Farm & Gin Show will be held February 26 & 27 at the Cook County Convention Center in Memphis, TN. Attendees can move through three full floors of the latest equipment and machinery and talk one-on-one with industry and company representatives of more than 400 exhibitors.

Additionally, State Farm Bureau presidents and Commissioner/Secretary of Agriculture from Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee will hold “Meet and Greet” sessions providing an opportunity for farmers and others to speak to ag officials. These sessions are in addition to educational seminars and Ag Update meetings scheduled for both days of the show.

Ag Update seminars will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, speakers will include Shane Stephens of the National Cotton Council with a cotton issues update, Carl Brothers of Riceland Foods with a wheat and rice market outlook, and Joe Nicosia of Louis Dreyfus with a cotton market outlook. On Saturday, Richard Brock of Brock & Associates will provide a grain marketing outlook.

Online registration and more information available here.

(Image courtesy Robert Goodson, U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture)

Agricultural & Food Law Consortium announces funding opportunity

Posted February 3, 2016

The Agricultural & Food Law Consortium is seeking formal collaboration with individuals, organizations, and institutions to conduct research and outreach activities that support the delivery of objective agricultural and food law research and information to the nation’s agricultural community. 

The announcement linked below sets out information pertaining to funding availability, the application process and timelines and other related information.  Questions and inquiries about this opportunity can be directed to Harrison Pittman, Director, National Agricultural Law Center, at hmpittm@uark.edu.

Per the announcement:

Letters of Interest are limited to two pages. Letters of Interest must set forth the specific interests and relevant expertise of the applicant(s), a narrative description of proposed project, anticipated month-by-month timelines for deliverables, and proposed funding needs. In addition, Letters of Interest must clearly indicate the agricultural and food law topic that will be addressed and the specific type of deliverable(s) that will be undertaken during the course of the project. 

Importantly, Letters of Interest must be submitted via email in letter format (PDF) to Harrison Pittman at hmpittm@uark.edu by 5:00 PM eastern on February 12, 2016.

A copy of the Consortium’s formal Call for Letters of Interest is available here.

OSU Food Law Webinar Feb. 12

Posted February 5, 2015

The Ohio State University Agricultural Law & Taxation blog is hosting a webinar on February 12, 1-2 p.m.

The webinar, Introduction to Food Law: What You Need to Know to Build a Food Law Practice, will be hosted by Jason Foscolo, Foscolo & Handel PLLC, Sag Harbor, New York.

There is no cost, registration, or CLE for this webinar. If you are unable to attend, OSU maintains an archive of the webinars here.

To watch the webinar, please click here.

For more information about the Ohio State University Agricultural Law & Taxation blog, please visit their website here.

U.S. Restores Normalized Relations with Cuba, Agriculture to Benefit

Posted December 18, 2015

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated that he believes agriculture will play an important role in strengthening the nation’s relationship with Cuba, according to a USDA statement available here. Politico also published an article here, The Des Moines Register here, and Reuters here.

“Throughout history, agriculture has served as a bridge to foster cooperation, understanding and the exchange of ideas among people. I have no doubt that agriculture will continue to play that powerful role as we expand our relationship with the Cuban people in the coming years.”

After more than 50 years, President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. plans to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, according to Reuters.

The policy will “expand trade, increase travel, and establish diplomatic relations with Cuba's communist regime,” according to The Des Moines Register.

"Today's announcement expands opportunity for U.S. farmers and ranchers to do business in Cuba. It removes technical barriers between U.S. and Cuban companies and creates a more efficient, less burdensome opportunity for Cuba to buy U.S. agricultural products. It also makes those products far more price competitive, which will expand choices for Cuban shoppers at the grocery store and create a new customer base for America's farmers and ranchers," said Vilsack in a statement.

The Obama administration is trying to eliminate previous restrictions on agricultural trade such as regulatory and financial hurdles, including restrictions on cash transactions, according to Politico.

With transaction costs drastically reduced, “it’s more likely now that Cuba will be able to do business at a higher level, from an agricultural product perspective,” said Vilsack.

Farmers in the Southeastern states will benefit most as they can easily ship products like poultry, rice, and corn to Cuba.

Other states with potential to benefit, include Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, North Carolina and Mississippi, with most products funneling through Louisiana, Florida, or Virginia ports.

OSU Hosting Big Data and UAVs Webinar Dec 12

Ohio State University’s (OSU) Agricultural & Resource Law Program has announced its inaugural webinar, Big Data and UAVs: Legal Issues for Agriculture, scheduled for Friday, December 12 at 1 p.m. 

This is the first webinar of the program’s new “Ohio Food, Agriculture and Environmental Law Webinar Series,” offering monthly legal webinars on issues of importance to Ohio agriculture. 

The webinar will feature John Dillard, an Associate Attorney with the law firm of Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz, PC in Washington, DC and a leading expert on legal issues with technology and agriculture. 

A schedule of future webinars in the Ohio Food, Agriculture and Environmental Law Webinar Series is available on their blog and will feature other national and state experts discussing legal issues of importance to Ohio agriculture. 

For more information, please visit OSU’s Agricultural Law and Taxation blog here.

Drake University to host Farmer-Veteran Coalition Conference

Posted October 2, 2014

Drake University is hosting the Farmer-Veteran Coalition National Stakeholders Conference November 14-15 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The conference will provide opportunities for networking, peer-to-peer learning, and to shape a strategy for long-term collaborations.

This will be the first national forum on programs for veterans pursuing careers related to food and agriculture.

The conference is open to all stakeholders from the agricultural and veteran communities: non-profits, businesses, philanthropists, government agencies, trade associations, and educators.

Speakers will represent local, state and national non-profits and trade associations, local, state and federal government programs, agricultural employers, civic leaders, farmer-veterans, entrepreneurs, and others. 

For more information, please visit the Farmer-Veteran Coalition’s website here.

To register for the conference, please visit their website here.

AFBF to Conduct Second Webinar in Series

Posted August 22, 2014

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) along with the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Global Social Enterprise Initiative has announced a free online business training webinars for rural entrepreneurs and Farm Bureau members, according to an AFBF statement.

“Finding and Using Business Information” will be presented on Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Featured presenters include Jessica Nelson, general manager at the National Center for Economic Gardening, and Steve Radley, president and CEO of the Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship (DBA NetWork Kansas).

“We’re pleased to present the second installment of the webinar series, which was developed to meet the needs of our members who are already involved in rural entrepreneurship enterprises as well as those preparing to launch a business in their local communities,” said Dr. Lisa Benson, AFBF’s director of rural development. “This webinar will help guide rural entrepreneurs in researching market opportunities for starting or innovating in their businesses,” she added.

At the end of July, an orientation workshop “kicked off” the webinar series with featured presenter Dan Durheim, AFBF’s director of industry affairs, giving a comprehensive overview of the national Rural Entrepreneurship Initiative. The webinar is available here.

Farm Bureau members and other interested parties are encouraged to RSVP here.

For more information about the webinar series, please visit AFBF’s website here.

ATF Accepting Applications from Veterans for Training

Posted July 28, 2014

Armed to Farm (ATF) provides veterans and their spouses an opportunity to experience “sustainable, profitable small-scale farming enterprises.” Veterans will examine farming as a viable career and will learn about the capital, labor, and risks associated with farming, as well as the return on investment that is realistically possible.

National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) Sustainable Agriculture specialists will teach training sessions, including business planning, budgeting, recordkeeping, marketing, livestock production, fruit and vegetable production, and more.

Staff from University of Arkansas, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and crop and livestock producers will also be present.

The Fayetteville event is scheduled for September 14-19, with an additional even in Jackson, Mississippi September 22-26.

The deadline for applications is due August 1 and space is limited. Selected participants will be notified by August 8.

The event is free for participants with lodging and most meals provided, however, transportation to and from the event must be provide by the participant.

For more information and to apply for the event, visit NCAT’s website here. The application can also be downloaded here.

For more information on sustainable agriculture, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Stabenow to Conduct Committee Hearing July 23

Posted July 23, 2014

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, will convene a Committee hearing on Wednesday, July 23 at 9:30 a.m., according to a press release. Wisconsin Ag Connection also published the release here.

The hearing will examine school meal programs across the country and where opportunities are present to strengthen these programs to better support America’s school children.

The hearing, “Meeting the Challenges of Feeding America’s School Children,” will convene on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. in room 328A of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington D.C. A live webcast of the hearing can be viewed on the Committee’s website here.

For more information on nutrition programs, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

USDA Announced Wetland Compliance Provisions Listening Session

Posted July 14, 2014

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will host a listening session on July 28, according to a USDA NRCS press release available here.

This session will take place at Ankeny Fire Station #1, 120 NW Ash Drive in Des Moines, Iowa, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The session will provide farmers and the public an opportunity to provide comments on several proposed technical changes to the agency’s use of offsite wetland determination procedures. NRCS is also seeking input on implementation strategies for the wetland mitigation banking provision provided in the Agricultural Act of 2014.

Iowa is one of six states to hold listening sessions.

“We want landowners to understand and meet their wetland compliance responsibilities which are a condition of participating in USDA programs, including crop insurance,” said Jay Mar, state conservationist for Iowa NRCS.

For more information on conservation programs, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Drake Law Center Will Host Farmer Veteran’s Coalition

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 Posted July, 4 2014

Drake University Law School is partnering with the Farmer Veteran Coalition to host the Midwest Conference for Farmer Veterans on Friday and Saturday, July 25-26, according to a press release available here.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Leopold Center are sponsors of this conference for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

The conference will include a “tour of a diverse farm operation; educational presentations and workshops led by experts, agency personnel, and veterans service providers; as well as networking opportunities for participants, exhibitors, and employers, including a social reception Friday evening.”

It will also allow for veterans to job other veterans in networking, learning opportunities, and job opportunities available to military veterans and service members who are farming, aspiring to farm, or seeking agricultural related careers.

Business planning, land access, financing, food safety, marketing contracts, branding and certifications, insurance and liability, recordkeeping, succession planning, new Farm Bill programs, and VA farming benefits will be topics for various educational sessions.

“Veterans have a history of service and are used to demanding jobs that require decisiveness and adaptability,” says Ed Cox, Staff Attorney at the Drake Agricultural Law Center. “Veterans make great farmers, and the Coalition and this Conference is about helping these veterans succeed in agriculture.

For more information, visit the Farmer Veteran Coalition website here.

Parties may register for the conference here.

FSMA Implementation Teleconference Scheduled

Posted June 26, 2014

A Produce Safety Alliance teleconference, along with staff from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will provide the latest information on the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), according to an article on The Packer by Coral Beach available here. A recent blog post on FSMA is available here.

It is a free event and scheduled for July 7 at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Kathy Gombas, FDA deputy director of food safety and applied nutrition, is the primary presenter, and she and other staff members will be available for questions after the presentation.

The teleconference will focus on the FDA’s strategy rules that are required by FSMA. The operational strategy was released in May even though some rules are not yet finalized.

For more information on food safety, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Agriculture Research Boards Begins Search for Directors

Posted June 24, 2014

Board of directors to be named for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, which was created by Congress in last year’s farm bill, according to a Roll Call article by Ellyn Ferguson available here.

The program is intended to bring funds into scientific study that made the U.S. an “agricultural powerhouse.”

The $200 million bill authorized mandatory spending to attract matching amounts from the private sector to finance research. Seven areas of research interest were laid out by Congress, including plant and animal health, food safety, nutrition, and health and renewable energy.

Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, praised the bill and stated that he looked forward to working with its grantees.

The first test for the foundation will be the formation of its board members, but eight directors will be named from recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences and seven will be named from 200 industry nominees.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, along with the department’s three top research officials and a representative from the National Science Foundation, will select board members that balance the views of different sectors in U.S. agriculture. The officials are expected to finalize their decisions in the one to two months.

For more information on farm bills, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Agriculture Scientists to Address Hunger Issues at 2014 Borlaug Symposium

Posted June 20, 2014

The World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue international symposium will be held October 15-17 in Des Moines, Iowa, and will pay tribute to founder, Dr. Norman Borlaug, according to a Farm Futures article available here.

The event will end the celebration of the 100th anniversary year of his birth, and explore the question: Can producers sustainably feed 9 billion people on the planet by the year 2050?

Agriculture experts and scientist will explore the next century as agricultures addresses the challenges of sustainably feeding a growing population. The symposium will give attention to the powers of intensification, innovation, and inspiration to uplift smallholder farmers and meet the growing demand for nutritious food.

The President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma will give a keynote address. President Koroma will also announce the four 40 Chances Fellows, which are individuals under 40 who have been selected to receive $150,00 to implement market entrepreneurship projects that fight hunter, conflict, or poverty in Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Malawi.

Other visitors include Kanayo F. Nwanze, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development; Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, U.S.; Enrique Martinez y Martinez, Secretary of Agriculture, Mexico; and Florence Chenoweth, Minister of Agriculture, Liberia.

More information on the symposium is available here.

For more information on sustainable agriculture, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Center for Food Animal Wellbeing Symposium Announced

Posted June 19, 2014

The Center for Animal Wellbeing is hosting the fourth annual symposium August 7 on advances and current issues in food animal wellbeing, according to a Division of Agriculture press release available here.

Registration for the one-day symposium is $25, and it will be in the Giffels Auditorium inside the Old Main building at the University of Arkansas.

Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton, director for the Center for Food Animal Wellbeing, said “I am thrilled that this year we have an extraordinary roster of speakers with international reputations to speak on animal welfare and related issues of current interest to those of us in animal agriculture.”

Speakers include Joy Mench, University of California at Davis; Temple Grandin, Colorado State University; David Newman, North Dakota State University; Paige Glover, Aviagen Poultry; Mark Cooper, Cobb-Vantress, Inc.; the Farm Foundation; and Janeal Yancy and Elizabeth Rumley, both with the University of Arkansas.

The Center for Food Animal Wellbeing’s goal is to “improve animal health, animal handling, food safety, and productivity by developing and defining objective measures of wellbeing including measures of behavior, stress, physiology, neurophysiology, immunology, microbiology, and production efficiency,” said Thaxton.

Registration information and the program are available here.

For more information on animal welfare, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Goehring Forming Panel to Review Ag-Related Federal Regulations

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Posted June 17, 2014

Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring announced the formation of a regulatory review committee to help farmers and ranchers address the increasing load of federal regulations, according to a Farm & Ranch Guide article available here. A previous blog post on the Clean Water Act federal regulations is available here.

“Agricultural producers are being swamped with federal regulations that impact their operations, increase their costs and reduce their profits,” Goehring said. “I have asked the state’s agricultural organizations and commodity groups to appoint representatives to the committee to study and review proposed regulations with the goal of addressing concerns and defending the agriculture industry.”

Goehring also stated that farmers and ranchers must comply with rules from several federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The committee will provide input to the North Dakota Department of Agriculture to construct comments on proposed federal and state rules before they are implemented.

“Committee members bring to the table knowledge about specific sectors of our agriculture industry,” Goehring said. “Some, perhaps most, will also be farmers and ranchers themselves with firsthand knowledge of regulatory impacts.”

The meetings and deliberations will be open to the public, and the first meeting will be held in July or August.

For more information on the Clean Water Act, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

$12.5 Million Available in Matching Payments under BCAP

Posted June 12, 2014

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced the availability of $12.5 million in matching payments under the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) for the collection, harvest, storage, and transport of eligible materials to qualified Biomass Conversion Facilities (BCFs) in 2014. The Federal Register notice is available here.

The notice confirmed the requirements for BCFs to apply for qualification, and for eligible owners to apply for BCAP matching payments.

The effective date is June 9, 2014.

For more information on commodity programs, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Social Media Webinar Announced for Marketing Aquaculture Products

Posted June 12, 2014

A webinar, “Social Media Tips for Direct Marketing Aquaculture Products,” will take place on June 19, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. A flyer is available here.

The webinar provides information on how to utilizes social media to sell aquaculture products directly to customers, including a legal issues discussion.

The webinar is hosted by the National Sea Grant Law Center and the National Agricultural Law Center, in collaboration with the University of Illinois Extension; Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences; the Aquaculture and Fisheries Business Institute; Alabama Cooperative Extension System; and Auburn University Marine Extension and Research Center.

Maggie Lawrence, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, and Will Wilkins, Mississippi Law Research Institute, will speak at the webinar.

For more information, email Terra Bowling at tmharget@olemiss.edu.

Stabenow to Convene First Child Nutrition Reauthorization Hearing

Posted June 6, 2014

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, will convene a hearing as part of the child nutrition reauthorization effort, according to a U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry available here.

The hearing is the first in a series and will take place on Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 10 a.m. in room 328A of the Russell Senate Office Building.

The hearing, A National Priority: The Importance of Child Nutrition Programs to our Nation’s Health, Economy and National Security, will examine how child nutrition programs can help address the challenges facing the nation such as national security, economic vitality, and the health of children and families.

A live webcast of the hearing can be viewed on the Committee’s website here. 

For more information on nutrition programs, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.

Ohio Bill Grants Invasive Species Authority to Department of Agriculture

Posted May 23, 2014

The Ohio legislature recently approved a bill addressing invasive species and giving regulatory authority over invasive plants to the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).  While the ODA, Ohio EPA and Ohio’s Division of Forestry already have programs for the identification and removal of invasive species, Senate Bill 192 clarifies that the director of ODA has “sole and exclusive authority to regulate invasive plant species in this state.”

For more information on the bill, please visit the Ohio State University Agricultural Law & Taxation Blog here.  The OSU Agricultural Law & Taxation blog is an excellent resource for current issues involving agricultural and tax law in Ohio.