Pesticides/Herbicides: Federal Court Hears Proposals for Resolving Multidistrict Roundup Litigation
On September 1, 2022, representatives of Plaintiffs’ leadership group and Defendant Bayer (as successor in interest to Monsanto) filed a Joint Case Management Statement in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in the multi-district litigation (MDL) captioned In Re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation, No. 16-md-2741, heard by Judge Vince Chhabria.  The case consolidates the management of all federal products liability cases pending against Bayer alleging Roundup as the cause of the plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  According to the statement: (a) 3,266 pending cases in the MDL are inactive and 765 cases remain active; (b) “[o]ver the last two years, Plaintiffs’ Leadership gave [Bayer] an opportunity to settle . . . [a]nd . . . while some settlements were reached, there are still tens of thousands of cases, filed in both federal and state court, that remain unresolved”; and (c) Plaintiffs’ leadership proposes a three-phase plan to wind up the federal MDL.  The three-phase plan includes (1) a 60-day window to explore global settlement; (2) Bayer making available a cloud-based “trial package” of evidence, testimony, exhibits, briefs, and pleadings to all plaintiffs’ counsel prosecuting MDL cases for expedient trial conduct with minimum additional discovery and pre-trial proceedings; and (3) a remand of all MDL cases to their original federal district courts for trial.  Bayer states that it has no interest in a global settlement plan and wants the Court to enter a proposed Docket Control Order shepherding each case individually through the existing MDL process with slight revisions (e.g. retaining court-ordered mediation for defined cases), including deadlines for each plaintiff to produce causation expert reports and testimony.  On September 7, 2022, Judge Chhabria conducted a status conference with the parties and, according to the official court docket, orally directed from the bench—with no written order—that the parties confer on certain aspects of the proposed process going forward and report back for another status conference on November 9, 2022.  For more background, see the Center for Agricultural and Shale Law’s Glyphosate Issue Tracker and ALWR—Sept. 9, 2022, “Bayer Wins Fifth Consecutive State Court Roundup Trial.”  

Agricultural Antitrust: Cargill, Sanderson, and Wayne Farms Agree to $85 Million Settlement in Class Action Worker Wage Lawsuit
On September 9, 2022, the poultry worker class action plaintiffs in a 2019 suit alleging conspiracy and wage suppression filed a motion and accompanying memorandum in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for preliminary approval of settlements with three of the named defendants: Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., Sanderson Farms Inc., and Wayne Farms LLC. Jien v. Perdue Farms, Inc., No. 1:19-cv-02521.  According to the documents, Cargill has agreed to pay $15 million, Sanderson $38.3 million, and Wayne $31.5 million to settle the plaintiffs’ claims that the companies shared detailed employee compensation information to fix wages throughout the geographically-clustered poultry processing industry and discourage competition between the defendant processors in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.  An antitrust expert affidavit from interim co-lead counsel, also submitted by the plaintiffs, characterized the settlements as “fair, reasonable, and adequate,” stating that “[t]hey provide substantial monetary and non-monetary benefits to the Settlement Class, and they avoid the risks, costs, and delay of continuing protracted litigation against Settling Defendants.”  The three companies have also agreed to cooperate with the plaintiffs in their further litigation against the remaining defendants.  In July 2022, the same three companies entered into a proposed consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle DOJ’s litigation against the companies for their actions under the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Packers and Stockyards Act, also pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. United States v. Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., No. 1:22-cv-01821.  The companies’ consent decrees with DOJ, as well as their competitive impact statements, were posted in the Federal Register on September 16, 2022 for a 60-day public comment period, during which any person may submit written comments on the consent decrees (87 FR 57028).  For additional background, see ALWR—July 22, 2022, “Federal Poultry Processing Wage Suppression Suit Alleging National Conspiracy Survives Motions to Dismiss” and ALWR—July 29, 2022, “Justice Department Files Complaint and Proposed Consent Decrees in Poultry Plant Worker and Contract Grower Compensation Conspiracy.”

Animal Health: HPAI Detections Surge in Turkeys in Minnesota and California and Egg Layers in Ohio and Colorado
As of September 26, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) HPAI 2022 Confirmed Detections database confirmed a total of 474 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cases in 40 states (221 in commercial flocks and 253 in backyard flocks), resulting in 46.44 million birds depopulated nationally.  During August and September, a resurgence of HPAI infected commercial poultry premises, resulting in depopulation of more than 1.3 million commercial turkeys, primarily in Minnesota and California; 3.7 million egg layers from a single large facility in Defiance County, Ohio (the state’s first commercial detection on September 3, 2022); and 1.1 million egg layers from a single premise in Colorado (on September 21, 2022). Round One of  of Pennsylvania’s $25 million HPAI Recovery Reimbursement Grant Program -initially designed to compensate producers and integrators located within in a 3-kilometer infected zone around each Pennsylvania detection site for financial losses suffered due to quarantine requirements—closed on September 10, 2022.  Round Two of the program opened for applications on August 24, 2022 and closes on October 8, 2022.  Round Two provides compensation for losses to producers located within a 10-kilometer control zone around a detection site.

National Agricultural Policy: USDA Announces $2.8 Billion for 70 Climate-Smart Partnership Projects
On September 14, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $2.8 billion for 70 selected projects, ranging from $5 million to $100 million, from the first wave of funding under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program.  USDA states that it will announce projects from the second funding pool later this year.  Although USDA initially allotted $1 billion for the program, the agency states that the strength of the first-round proposals—more than 450 projects submitted by more than 350 entities from every state as well as tribal lands, D.C., and Puerto Rico—led the agency to increase the funding.  Lead partners on projects involving Pennsylvania include

  • ($10 million) Low Carbon Beef LLC.: Low Carbon Beef USDA Pilot Program: A Fully Integrated Lifecycle Approach to Reduce GHG Emissions from Beef Cattle at Commercial Scale;
  • ($25 million) The Conservation Innovation Fund: The Mid-Atlantic Conservation Innovation Fund Climate-Smart Commodities project;
  • ($25 million) Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools: Organic Valley Carbon Insetting Program;
  • ($25 million) Pennsylvania State University, University Park: Climate-smart Agriculture that is profitable, Regenerative, Actionable, and Trustworthy (CARAT);
  • ($25 million) Rodale Institute: Quantifying the Potential to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Increase Carbon Sequestration by Growing and Marketing Climate-Smart Commodities in the Southern Piedmont;
  • ($30 million) American Farmland Trust: Producer Led Collaborative Effort to Fundamentally Transition the U.S. Beef Supply Chain to Carbon Neutral;
  • ($35 million) American Forest Foundation: Engaging Family Forests to Improve Climate-Smart Commodities (EFFICACI);
  • ($35 million) American Sustainable Business Institute Inc.: The Growing GRASS & Climate-Smart Value-Added U.S. Commodity Markets Project;
  • ($35 million) The Wolfe’s Neck Farm Foundation, Inc.: Alliance to Catalyze Transition Incentives through Open Networks for Climate Smart Agriculture;
  • ($40 million) The DeLong Co., Inc.: Incentivizing Climate-Smart Growing Practices, expanding climate-smart markets and developing brand awareness;
  • ($40 million) Farm Journal, Inc.: Connected Ag Climate-Smart Commodities Pilot Project;
  • ($45 million) Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.: Scaling Methane Emissions Reductions and Soil Carbon Sequestration—A Value-Added Commodities Approach for United States Dairy;
  • ($55 million) Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture: Climate-Smart Farming & Marketing: Engaging in Community-Science;
  • ($60 million) The Nature Conservancy: Expanding Agroforestry Production & Markets;
  • ($70 million) Carbon A List LLC: Transforming the Farmer-to-Consumer Supply Chain with Climate Smart Agriculture Partnerships;
  • ($70 million) Field to Market: The Climate-Smart Agriculture Innovative Finance Initiative;
  • ($90 million) National Association of Conservation Districts: Strengthening Grassroots Leadership & Capacity to Scale Climate-Smart Production Systems and Facilitate Historically Underserved Producers’ Access to Markets;
  • ($90 million) Truterra, LLC: Climate SMART (Scaling Mechanisms for Agriculture’s Regenerative Transformation); and
  • ($95 million) National Fish & Wildlife Foundation: Farmers for Soil Health Climate Smart Commodities Partnership.

Biotechnology: President Biden Issues Executive Order on ‘Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation’
On September 12, 2022, President Joe Biden issued an executive order (EO) titled, “Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy” (E.O. 14081 of Sep 12, 2022) (87 FR 56849, September 15, 2022).  The EO outlines eleven key policies for creating a comprehensive government agenda to strengthen the American bioeconomy through investment and innovation in biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and management of biological data—two of which specifically apply to agriculture: 1) “boost sustainable biomass production and create climate-smart incentives for American agricultural producers and forest landowners,” and 2) “expand market opportunities for bioenergy and biobased products and services.”  The EO calls for the Agriculture Secretary, within 180 days of the EO, to submit a report detailing how biotechnology and biomanufacturing may be used to mitigate plant and animal diseases, develop alternate food supplies, and improve or increase land conservation, food quality, and crop yields—including opportunities for private sector collaboration.  Within one year, the Agriculture Secretary is directed to submit a plan to strengthen the U.S. biomass supply chain.  The EO also contains two additional agriculture-related provisions: expanded federal procurement for biobased products and clarification of the biotechnology regulatory framework, including a reevaluation of changes made in accordance with the June 2019 Executive Order, “Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products” (E.O. 13874 of Jun 11, 2019).

Agritourism: Webinar on New Hayride Registration for Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Members
On October 5, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) will host a webinar for Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) members to answer questions about PDA’s order published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on March 5, 2022.  The order establishes “a variance from the requirement that an owner or lessee of “hayride attractions” comply with specific provisions of the Amusement Ride Inspection Act (4 P.S. §§ 401—418) and its attendant regulations (7 Pa. Code Chapter 139).”  To attend the webinar, PFB members should register through their PFB Regional Organization Director and a link will be provided. For background, see ALWR—March 18, 2022, “Hayride Owners Exempted from Engineer Verification for PA Registration” and PFB’s announcement, “PDA Enforcement of Hayride Attractions Will Start in 2023” (April 25, 2022).

 

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CENTER PROGRAMS & RESOURCES

Agricultural Law Podcasts:

Events:

Understanding Agricultural Law. A free monthly webinar series via Zoom for agricultural and rural business advisors of all kinds. One hour of substantive CLE credit available for Pennsylvania licensed attorneys at no charge.  Recordings and materials from prior webinars in this series, more information and registration all are available here. Next in the series:

  • Sept. 23, 2022, noon ET: Understanding the Basics of Livestock Market Regulation (recording available)
  • Oct. 21, 2022, noon ET: Understanding the Basics of Crop Insurance

Dairy Quarterly Legal WebinarA free quarterly webinar series via Zoom covering legal and regulatory developments in the U.S. dairy industry from the preceding quarter, plus an in-depth look at a focus topic. One hour of substantive CLE credit available for Pennsylvania licensed attorneys at no charge. Recordings and materials from prior webinars in this series, more information and registration available here. Next in series:

Legal Planning for Specialty Crop Producers. A free periodic webinar series via ZOOM. Register at any time to watch recordings of past, and attend all future, webinars, as well as access the webinar materials here. Next in series:

Agricultural Law & Policy Resources of Interest:

Penn State News, Research & Resources:

Top #AgLaw HotLinks Sept. 9–16, 2022:

Agriculture-Related Legislative Hearings & Reports:

Sept. 14, 2022, 10:00 AM ET, House Agriculture Committee Hearing, Soil Health Practices and Programs that Support Regenerative Agriculture.

Sept. 14, 2022, 10:00 AM ET, House Committee on Small Business, Right to Repair and What it Means for Entrepreneurs.

Pennsylvania Farm/Food Employers’ Listserv (PFEL) is a human resources networking group exclusively for farm and food employers. Subscribe by email with “subscribe” in the subject line to [email protected].

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FEDERAL ACTIONS—EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE

U.S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) PRESS RELEASES

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Historic Investment in Partnerships for 70 Climate-Smart Commodities and Rural Projects (Sept. 14, 2022).

USDA Invests Nearly $2 Billion, Leverages American Agriculture to Feed Kids & Families (Sept. 14, 2022).

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) PRESS RELEASES

EPA Awards Grants to Advance Smart, Sensible, and Sustainable Pest Control in Agriculture (Sept. 15, 2022).

EPA Implements Advanced Effort to Protect Water Quality in Three Boston-area River Watersheds (Sept. 14, 2022).

USDA AGENCY PRESS RELEASES:

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

USDA Files Action Against Burbano Corporation d/b/a CasaBella Farms Corp. in Florida for Alleged PACA Violations (Sept. 16, 2022).

USDA Files Action Against Island Fresh De Puerto Rico Inc. in Puerto Rico for Alleged PACA Violations (Sept. 16, 2022).

USDA Settles a Packers and Stockyards Case with Tri-County Livestock Exchange Inc. and Larry Congleton (Sept. 15, 2022).

USDA Reaches Consent Decision with Westminster Meat Packing Inc. for Packers and Stockyards Act Violations (Sept. 15, 2022).

USDA Takes Steps to Support Food Sovereignty with the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Sept. 15, 2022).

USDA Issues a Packers and Stockyards Complaint against Wright Livestock Inc. and Rodney J. Wright for Packers and Stockyards Act Violations (Sept. 15, 2022).

USDA Announces Its Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement with Georgia (Sept. 14, 2022).

USDA Announces Its Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement with Northern Mariana Islands (Sept. 13, 2022).

USDA to Purchase $50 Million in Consumer-Ready Rice for Food Assistance Programs (Sept. 12, 2022).

Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

Soil Disturbance Reduces Resilience of Rangelands to Climate Change (Sept. 12, 2022).

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Tennessee (Sept. 15, 2022).

Allowance of Hunter Harvested Wild Bird Game Carcasses from Canada (Sept. 12, 2022).

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)

REGISTER NOW: US-EU CPA Stakeholder Session in Brussels (Sept. 14, 2022).

National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Historic Investment in Partnerships for 70 Climate-Smart Commodities and Rural Projects (Sept. 14, 2022).

FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Federal Register Sept. 12–16, 2022):            

Agriculture Department   

87 FR 56620 Notice: “Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals” (Sept. 15, 2022).

87 FR 56620 Notice: “Determination of Total Amount of Fiscal Year 2023 WTO Tariff-Rate Quota for Certain Sugars, Syrups and Molasses”

87 FR 55779 Notice—Comment Period: “Federal Plant Pest and Noxious Weed Regulations” (Sept. 12, 2022).

Antitrust Division

87 FR 57028 Notice: “United States v. Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., et al.; Proposed Final Judgments and Competitive Impact Statement” (Sept. 15, 2022).

Environmental Protection Agency

87 FR 56895 Rule: “Eugenol; Exemption from the Requirement of a Tolerance” (Sept. 16, 2022).

87 FR 56899 Rule: “Oxirane, 2-Methyl-, Polymer with Oxirane, Mono-C9-11-Isoalkyl Ethers, C10-Rich, Phosphates, Potassium Salts; Tolerance Exemption” (Sept. 16, 2022).

87 FR 56410 Notice: “Cancellation Order for Certain Pesticide Registrations” (Sept. 14, 2022).

87 FR 56410 Notice: “Transfer of Data from Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to SRC, Inc.” (Sept. 14, 2022).

87 FR 56051 Notice—Comment Period: “Pesticides; Proposed Removal of PFAS Chemicals from Approved Inert Ingredient List for Pesticide Products” (Sept. 13, 2022).

Food Safety and Inspection Service

87 FR 56621 Notice: “Eligibility of Lithuania To Export Egg Products to the United States” (Sept. 15, 2022).

International Trade Administration

87 FR 56631 Notice: “Certain Lemon Juice from the Republic of South Africa: Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures” (Sept. 15, 2022).

87 FR 55996 Notice: “Certain Frozen Fish Fillets from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; Final Determination of No Shipments; 2020-2021″ (Sept. 13, 2022).

87 FR 55999 Notice: “Certain Pasta from Italy: Amended Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, in Part; 2020-2021″ (Sept. 13, 2022).

87 FR 55997 Notice: Certain Preserved Mushrooms from France: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value” (Sept. 13, 2022).

U.S. HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE:

H.R.8862 “To invest in real pro-life policies that support the American family, and for other purposes” Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture and others (Sept. 15, 2022).

H.R.8860 “To direct the Attorney General to include certain additional information in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, and for other purposes” Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture and others (Sept. 15, 2022).

H.R.8851 “To provide support and assistance to unborn children, pregnant women, parents, and families” Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture and others (Sept. 15, 2022).

H.R.8836 “To amend the Commodity Exchange Act to exempt certain small companies that utilize foreign exchange from certain capital and margin requirements in order to enhance opportunities for small businesses to improve trade and export markets, and for other purposes” Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture (Sept. 15, 2022).

H.R.8825 “Small and Homestead Independent Producers Act of 2022” Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture (Sept. 14, 2022).

H.R.8109 “Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act” Subcommittee hearings held (Sept. 14, 2022).

H.R.8108 “Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act” Subcommittee hearings held (Sept. 14, 2022).

H.R.8802 “Public Lands and Waters Climate Leadership Act of 2022” Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture (Sept. 13, 2022).

U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY:

S.4760 “Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022” Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. (Sept. 15, 2022).

S.4826 “Community Wildfire Protection Act of 2022” Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (Sept. 13, 2022).

S.4821 “SOIL Act of 2022” Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (Sept. 12, 2022).

STATE ACTIONS—EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE 

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PRESS RELEASES:           

All-American Dairy Show to Showcase U.S. Dairy Industry Leaders of Today and Tomorrow (Sept. 16, 2022).

Agriculture Secretary Invites Applicants For $500,000 In PA Farm Bill Grants To Strengthen Childhood Nutrition, Hands-On Ag Education (Sept. 13, 2022).

PENNSYLVANIA EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Pa. Bulletin Vol. 52, No. 37—Sept. 10, 2022): 

Department of Agriculture

52 Pa.B. 5819 Notice: “Farm-to-School Grant Program; 2022-2023 Program Guidelines.”

52 Pa.B. 5820 Notice: “List of Pesticides Which May be used by Medical Marijuana Growers and Processors.”

Department of Environmental Protection 

52 Pa.B. 5823 Notice: “Applications for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits and Water Quality Management (WQM) Permits under the Clean Streams Law and Federal Clean Water Act.”

52 Pa.B. 5898 Notice: “Environmental Assessment Approval for PENNVEST Funding Consideration.”

 

Written by:
Audry Thompson—Staff Attorney
Megan Guess—Research Assistant
Brook Duer—Staff Attorney