Blog - Page 12 of 19 - Agricultural Legal Counsel

Agriculture

Free Range Pigs, the Miracle Third Crop and More

Supreme Court Gives Pigs Space to Roam (or at least turn around) Hot off the Supreme Court press, the High Court affirmed the dismissal of National Pork Producers’ (NPP) and American Farm Bureau’s (AFB) challenge to a California animal welfare law known as Proposition 12. The law revised California’s standards for the in-state sale of eggs, veal, and pork – and as it concerns this case, the law forbid the in-state sale of pork that came from pigs that were “confined in a cruel manner.” Thus, among other things, sows were required to have at least 24 square feet of living space. As a practical matter, the law impacted the

joelcape May 12, 2023

Brands

Ranch Water or ranch water, and other legal news

Ranch Water or ranch water? Sometimes a good brand idea just slips away, and next thing you know someone else is using your idea to make piles of money. A couple years ago I noticed a can of Ranch Water (tequila, sparkling water, and lime juice) in the cooler of a local purveyor of tasty beverages. It was from the Ranch Rider Spirits Co. I’m a sucker for new and interesting stuff, so of course I had to try some (it was mighty fine). A few months later, I noticed a different Ranch Water sitting beside (what I believed was) the original Ranch Water. “That’s weird.” I pondered whether Ranch

joelcape May 5, 2023

Agriculture

New Pesticides Bogged Down in Litigation, a Beer By Any Other Name and More

New Pesticides Buried in Lawsuits Over Endangered Species Act In a recent hearing before the House Ag Committee, EPA Administrator Michael Regan made it clear that the Agency has been hammered by a growing wave of lawsuits regarding its failure to include Endangered Species Act (ESA) review in its pesticide registration process. The ESA requires federal agencies such as EPA to ensure that federal government will not jeopardize a listed species or its designed critical habitat, which includes registration or review of a pesticide. But EPA has ignored ESA obligations for decades, leading to numerous lawsuits. As reported by DTN Progressive Farmer, EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention revealed that

joelcape April 28, 2023

Agriculture

Global Grain Hits Local Farmers, Dicamba’s Registration Under Fire

Grain Trade May be Global, But Farming Is Local Accommodations implemented in Europe to maintain the flow of Ukrainian grain after the Russian invasion may be coming to an end. Poland and Hungary recently announced plans to ban imports of Ukrainian grain in response to surplus inventories and falling grain prices in those countries, both of whom are European Union members. When Russia invaded Ukraine it blocked ports in the Black Sea making it dangerous for grain shipments out of Ukraine. In response, the European Union lifted tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian grain with the intention that it travel overland routes to other destinations and ports where the grain could

joelcape April 21, 2023

Agriculture

Bug Perfume from Tobacco Plants, a Battle for Rare Seeds and More

Love in the Air from Engineered Tobacco Groundbreaking new research from Earlham Institute has resulted in a genetically engineered tobacco plants that produces moth sex pheromones, paving the way to a less expensive and “greener” method of controlling damaging insect pests in crops. The research developed DNA sequences that mimics the production of sex pheromones in Nicotiana benthamiana, a species of tobacco. An important goal of the research was regulating production of the pheromones because as the plants increased efficiency in pheromone production, energy was diverted away from plant growth. By using copper sulfate, the researchers were able to fine tune gene expression and even “carefully control the production of different pheromone

joelcape April 14, 2023

Agriculture

The End of a Growing Population and More Agriculture News

Peak Global Population? Food for a growing population – the phrase has become a mantra for all manner of farm groups, ag companies, environmentalists, policy makers, and others. The phrase is used to justify almost anything, from selling more technology to combating climate change, to changing global diets, to subsidizing commodity exports, to reducing food waste, and everything in between. But what if the global population is nearing its peak and facing a long decline? National Geographic’s April edition takes an in-depth look at global populations trends and issues, and points to a growing consensus that the human population is likely to peak before the end of the century. Within the

joelcape April 7, 2023