Agricultural Conservation Easement Program: U.S. Department of Agriculture Publishes Interim Rule
January 22, 2020
by Jordan P. Wimpy
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (“USDA”) recent efforts to update the Farm Bill’s Title II conservation programs continued into the 2020 year. USDA has issued since early December a number of interim final rules to update the nation’s conservation programs which include: the Conservation…
Environmental Quality Incentives Program: U.S. Department of Agriculture Interim Rule Amendments
January 20, 2020
by Jordan P. Wimpy
We wrote in early December that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) issued an “interim rule” to revise the terms and conditions of the Conservation Reserve Program and implement certain program amendments required by the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115-334 (i.e., the 2018…
Crop Insurance Dispute Wrapped in Red Tape: One Farmer's Uphill Battle to Overturn Arbitration
December 19, 2019
by Devin R. Bates
A farmer who lost a crop insurance dispute at arbitration took his insurance company to federal district court, filing a motion to vacate the arbitration award. When the lower court split the baby, the farmer and the insurer cross-appealed. In a recently announced opinion, the Eighth Circuit sided…
Innovative State-Led Efforts to Finance Agricultural Conservation: Environmental Defense Fund/National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Report
September 20, 2019
by Walter G. Wright, Jr.
The Environmental Defense Fund and National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (collectively, “NASDA”) released a joint report titled: Innovative State-Led Efforts to Finance Agricultural Conservation (“Report”) The authors of the Report include: John Feldmann Vincent Gauthier Maggie…
Business Has Standing to Challenge State Restriction by Alleging it Unconstitutionally Interferes with Commerce
A big win for farmers and small businesses alike, this recent opinion from the Eighth Circuit recognizes the right to challenge a state law alleged to unconstitutionally impede the free market, even where the law hasn’t yet been enforced. The Eighth Circuit sided with small farm wineries in holding…