Ag Docket Blog
On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly narrowed the definition of “waters of the United States.” Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-454 (2023). This case marks a decided victory for the Sacketts, an Idaho couple who wished to build a house on property the EPA found to contain federal wetlands.
California’s Proposition 12 is here to stay...unless Congress decides to weigh in. On May 11, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the 2018 law forbidding the sale of whole pork meat that comes from breeding pigs “confined in a cruel manner” did not violate the dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
A recent case from the Iowa Supreme Court highlights the importance of carefully completing and reviewing beneficiary designations for IRAs and other retirement accounts.
In a January 27, 2023, opinion, the Iowa Supreme Court found that a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship was converted to a tenancy in common when one of the owners transferred her undivided interest to a revocable living trust.
As the 2023 filing season begins, taxpayers and their preparers must sort through new guidance and rules to determine their requirements for the 2022 tax year. This post details 10 key considerations for these returns.
Agricultural supply dealer liens—intended to encourage suppliers to provide necessary feed and supplies to agricultural producers—can be difficult to enforce. An opinion issued by the Iowa Supreme Court today illustrates some of the complexity of this remedy. Quality Plus Feeds, Inc. v.
On December 16, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court denied an appeal claiming that the state’s Right to Farm Act was unconstitutional. Previously, the North Carolina Court of Appeals had granted the State’s motion to dismiss under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12(b)(6). Rural Empowerment Ass’n for Cmty. Help v. North Carolina, 2021 WL 6014722 (N.C. App. Dec. 21, 2021).
On October 18, 2022, the USDA announced that it had already provided nearly $800 million in assistance to distressed borrowers to help cure delinquencies and resolve uncollectable farm loan debts.
The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard law requires all bioengineered food to disclose its bioengineered status to consumers through “text, symbol, or electronic or digital link.” 7 U.S.C. § 1639b(b)(2)(D). The USDA, through the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), promulgated the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard rule in 2018 .A group of retail stores and food advocacy groups brought suit in the Northern District of California claiming that the regulations violated the Administrative Procedure Act. A federal judge agreed and found that the USDA failed to comply with the disclosure statute’s directive to “provide additional and comparable options” to ensure that consumers could access the electronic disclosure.
On September 26, 2022, a federal judge in the Southern District of Iowa again found an Iowa farm trespass law to be unconstitutional. Under Iowa Code § 727.8A (the “Trespass Surveillance law”), anyone who trespasses and “knowingly places or uses a camera or electronic surveillance device that transmits or records images or data while the device is on the trespassed property” is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor. This is Iowa’s third farm fraud and trespass law found to be in violation of the First Amendment by this court.
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