Ag Law & Policy Update

Congress Seeks to Strengthen Oversight: Proposed Amendments to AFIDA National Agricultural Law Center Staff Over the past few years, federal and state lawmakers have become increasingly concerned about foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land. While there is no federal law that...

What It Is USDA’s Farm Service Agency is issuing up to $10 billion in direct payments to eligible agricultural producers of eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP). These one-time economic assistance payments will...

⋅ BY CALEB HAMPTON ⋅ The start of another year has brought with it new laws and regulations that affect agricultural production in California. As of Jan. 1, new policies related to water, air quality, endangered species, and other issues...

⋅ BY MARY HIGHTOWER ⋅ University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Upending of a 40-year precedent in rulemaking and a pair of end-of-year plot twists for two laws meant to prevent fraud and improve national security were just some of...

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) have issued a final rule to update the implementing regulations for Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). Section 10 of the ESA sets out various voluntary programs available to...

Classifying workers as “employees” or “independent contractors” is an important task for agricultural employers because of the legal obligations and protections they owe to their employees. Some agricultural employers hire workers to complete various tasks or provide certain services...

With an increased interest in conservation and land preservation, the use of legal tools like land trusts and conservation easements have grown in popularity. Specifically, nonprofit land trusts which typically act as a 501(c)(3) organization for the purpose of...

As an interest in land conservation has grown among both the public and private sectors in the past decade, land trusts have become an increasingly popular avenue for encouraging and enforcing conservation practices. While there are various types of land...