Blog - Agricultural Legal Counsel

Agriculture

Adoption of Biostimulants, the Great Pumpkin Keeps Getting Greater, and other news to ponder

Biostimulant Awareness High, But Lacking in Confidence UK-based biostimulant developer, SugaROx, commissioned a survey of UK wheat producers this year to learn growers’ awareness and perceptions regarding the use of biostimulants in agricultural production. The survey demonstrated a fairly high level of awareness of biostimulants and how they function in crop systems, but also revealed some significant disconnects. Cost-effectiveness was one of the primary barriers to wider adoption – growers didn’t feel they had a clear understanding of the benefits of biostimulants in relation to the added input cost. A lack of information and reliable performance data on biostimulant products was also high on the list of concerns. The results indicated

Joel Cape November 19, 2025

Agriculture

U.S. Senate Seeks Answers to High Crop Input Prices, GMO Food Labeling Rule Found Faulty, and other news to ponder

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Seeks Answers for Eyewatering Prices of Seed and Fertilizer Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing and received testimony to understand the causes of high input costs for critical crop inputs, particularly seed and fertilizer. One of the overarching messages from the witnesses’ testimony was the farm-level effects of extreme consolidation among fertilizer distribution and seed genetics suppliers in corn, soybeans, and cotton. With just a few dominant firms controlling the majority of these markets, witnesses explained how they can exert tremendous financial pressure on farmers, even in down commodity markets, with little or zero repercussion. Witnesses for the seed sector explained how independent

Joel Cape November 12, 2025

Agriculture

Ag Drones’ Opportunity Costs, Ag Biotech Arrives in China, and other news to ponder

Ag Drones Becoming Cost-Savers in Precision Farming Research by Professor Bruno Basso at Michigan State University is showing how the use of ag drones and satellite imagery can take precision agriculture a step further with finely tuned precision applications of crop inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides. Over the last decade, drones have been embraced in agriculture and are rapidly moving to mainstream adoption. Drones represent a big cost-saving opportunity for farmers by making precision input applications only where they are needed, and avoiding areas where they would just be wasted. As this technology has steadily decreased in price while also becoming more accurate and efficient, ag drones are gaining traction as

Joel Cape November 3, 2025

Agriculture

California Claims Victory in Race to Ban Ultra-Processed Foods, and other news to ponder

California Enacts “First” Ban on Ultraprocessed Foods? Last week, California enacted a new law to ban ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in school meals, with Governor Gavin Newsom broadly claiming that it was leading the way for the rest of the nation with the first law in the U.S. to enact such a ban. California’s new law does appear to be the first to provide a legal definition of UPFs and provide mechanisms for enforcement. Reflecting the challenge of defining precisely what a UPF is, California’s definition is somewhat lengthy and incorporates several other regulatory definitions, but in substance, a UPF is the following: any food or beverage that has high amounts

Joel Cape October 20, 2025

Agriculture

Some Highlights from Seed Congress of the Americas, and other news to ponder

A Few Highlights from the 10th Seed Congress of the Americas Last week was the 10th Seed Congress of the Americas in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, an event established by the Seed Association of the Americas (SAA) to advance the interests of the seed industry in North and South America. Industry professionals from around the world presented on several compelling topics, including market conditions, intellectual property protection, seed-applied technologies, gene editing, and the state of global regulation of gene editing in agriculture. Several presentations either focused on gene editing for developing new plant varieties and traits, or at least touched on the topic, demonstrating how rapidly the technology has been adopted on a broad

Joel Cape October 13, 2025

Agriculture

Agriculture’s Antitrust Cops on the March, MAHA – Making Agriculture Happy Again, and other news

Department of Justice and USDA to Investigate Sky-High Farm Input Costs Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced yesterday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly scrutinize agricultural input markets – particularly, seed, fertilizer, equipment, and fuel. With the economic conditions for row crop producers falling off a cliff, the USDA and DOJ have become keenly interested in looking into why crop production input costs have continued to rise to the point that farmers are locked into steep operating losses. The Memorandum became immediately effective and includes the option to take antitrust enforcement actions to promote competition

Joel Cape October 7, 2025