Welcome to the U.S. Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog

A comprehensive news, research, and information resource for the nation’s agricultural community.

Provided as a partnership of the National Agricultural Law Center, the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information, and the American Agricultural Law Association, the only national professional organization focusing on the legal needs of the agricultural community.

Upcoming March 16 Workshop for Foresters and Loggers

The National Agricultural Law Center, along with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service and the LSU AgCenter are hosting a series of three workshops dealing with legal, marketing, and business issues that affect forest landowners. Topics discussed at the conference will include wildlife management, insurance, leasing contracts, landowner liability, and agritourism.

The next workshop will be held in Shreveport, Louisiana on Friday, March 16, 2012. The third and final workshop will be held in Monticello, Arkansas on April 13.

The March 16 workshop qualifies for Continuing Education for Foresters and Loggers.

Workshop presenters will include:

• Dr. Tamara Walkingstick, Arkansas Forest Resources Center Associate Center
Director;
• Dr. Becky McPeake, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Arkansas
Cooperative Extension Service;
• Dora Ann Hatch, State-wide Coordinator for Agritourism, LSU AgCenter;
• Rusty Rumley, Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center; and
• Elizabeth Rumley, Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center.
The workshops will be held from 9am – 4pm, with registration beginning at 8:30am. A registration fee of $20 per person/ $30 per couple will cover lunch. Payment is not due until the morning of the
workshop.

For more information on any aspect of the conference or to pre-register, contact Rusty Rumley at (479) 575-2636, or via email at rrumley@uark.edu.

The workshops are conducted pursuant to a grant titled, “Managing Legal Risk for Alternative Uses of Forestland”, awarded through the Southern Risk Management Education Center.

Russia to Ban Cattle Imports from EU States

Recent news accounts have reported that beginning March 20, Russia will ban cattle imports from throughout the European Union. The move is in response to concerns over the spread of the Schmallenberg and Bluetongue viruses. According to a recent article, the action is a result of “a failure by the EU sanitary agencies to provide . . . information about the epidemic, countermeasures, and antidote researches.”

Russia's National Meat Association head, Sergei Yushin, said that Russia is applying the basic precautions of the World Trade Organization as if Russia was a full member of the WTO in order to “eliminate any risks because there can be risks.”

The Schmallenberg virus is an infection spread by blood-sucking insects that causes fever, gastrointestinal disorder, a sharp drop of milk production and miscarriages. Bluetongue is also an insect-borne disease mainly found in sheep, which causes excessive salivation, swelling of the face and tongue and cyanosis of the tongue.

For the full article, click here.

Food and Drug Adminstration Set to Issue Ruling on BPA in Food and Beverages

A recent article from CBS News reports that Bisphenol-A -- BPA -- may be on its way out of the food supply. The Food and Drug Administration is set to issue a ruling by March 31, 2012 on the use of BPA in food and beverage packaging. BPA is at issue largely as a result of a lawsuit and petition filed in 2008 by the National Research Defense Council.

According to the article, a researchers from the Breast Cancer Fund reported that many kid-friendly canned foods contained BPA, which, “mimics estrogen and has been linked in studies to increased breast cancer risk.” The article further reported that other studies have also linked BPA to anxiety, hyperactivity, and individuals with heart disease. France has already moved to ban BPA in all food packaging and Canada has declared BPA a toxin, both of which implicate food trade issues associated with U.S. exports.

Anthony Sanzio, spokesperson for Campbell’s Soup is quoted in the article as stating that, "The overwhelming weight of scientific evidence shows that the use of BPA in can lining poses no threat to human health. That being said, we understand that consumers may have concerns about it. We’re very aware of the debate and we’re watching it intently."Campbell’s Soup has recently announced that they would be moving towards BPA free cans.

For the full article, click here. For more information from the FDA on BPA, click here.

Premiums on Organic Chicken Breasts

Consumers are still willing to buy organic meat despite its higher price. A recent article out of Fayetteville, Arkansas reported that consumers are willing to pay a premium for organic meat, but that the type of organic label controls their willingness to pay. The article was based on a study done out of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Center for Food Safety. The author of the study’s published results, Ellen Van Loo, says that "willingness-to-pay estimates can also provide insights on how consumers value the organic attribute in meat products and can be used as input in analyzing the marketability of the products."

In the study, consumers were hypothetically surveyed (Van Loo would like to research further with real market data later) as to their willing to pay premiums for chicken breasts. “The surveys found that consumers would be willing to spend a 35 percent premium for a general organic labeled chicken breast and would pay a 104 percent premium for a USDA-certified organic labeled chicken breast.”

The study broke down the consumers based on the frequency in which they purchased organic products. Consumers who traditionally did not shop organic were unwilling to pay the premium. Consumers who occasionally bought organic “would pay a 35.7 percent premium for a general organic labeled chicken breast and a 97.3 percent premium for USDA-certified chicken breast.” The most frequent buyers though “would pay a 146 percent premium for a general organic labeled chicken breast and 244.3 percent premium for USDA-certified chicken breast.”

For a similar article from the USDA on produce, click here. For more information on the National Organic Program and more resources from the National Agricultural Law Center, click here.

United Egg Producers Proposes Change to Farm Bill

United Egg Producers (UEP) President and CEO, Gene Gregory, advocates an amendment to
the current Farm Bill. The amendment, Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012 (H.R. 3798), reasons that eggs are a commodity and hopes to accommodate producers who move eggs across state lines for big companies such as Wal-Mart by giving national uniformity to shipping rules such as cage size. There is concern though that regional producers may face higher costs as a result.

Gregory believes that federal intervention is warranted even though it would be the first time that “Congress would set specific size standards for a livestock enterprise.” Gregory believes that state by state legislation to resolve the issue is illogical because the industry does not have “that kind of money to fight all of those lawsuits.”

UEP has negotiated the finer details of the amendment with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The UEP initially wanted a cage size of 90 square inches and HSUS wanted cage free, but they have compromised at 124 square inches. The housing systems will also be enriched” with “scratch pads, perching, and other amenities.” Gregory believes that Congress will be receptive to this figure given that it was negotiated with HSUS. HSUS president, Wayne Pacelle, also defends the amendment as a “positive change.”

For the full article, click here. For an article responding to the view of regional producers, click here. For more information about animal welfare laws, click here.

Upcoming Webinars on Legal Issues in Recreational Land Use

On Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. (Central) a free, producer-oriented webinar will be offered that focuses on landowner liability issues associated with the recreational use of land. The webinar is part of a multi-workshop series of online workshops conducted under the Southern Risk Management Education Center project titled “Using Alternative Enterprises and Recreational Development to Bolster Farm Incomes.” The workshops are conducted under the leadership of the Natural Resource Enterprises Program at Mississippi State University in partnership with the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

In addition, other partners are Auburn University, Clemson University, and the the University of Tennessee.

The March 1 workshop will overview the basics of premises liability issues as well as address the application of recreational use statutes and the agritourism liability laws. The next webinar, which will address business organization issues, will be held on March 8 at 11:30 a.m.

The broadcast will begin at 11:30 a.m. (Central). To join the webinar, simply click on the following link and follow the user-friendly instructions, http://msues.adobeconnect.com/wildlife.

It is recommended that participants sign on 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the webinar.