September Round-Up

As we wrap up the summer season, researchers at the National Agricultural Law Center continue to bring trusted research and information in agricultural and food law to stakeholders across the country. Outlined below are all the new NALC resources from the month of September.

Webinars

Right to Repair Statutes: Overview, Issues Presented, and Current Status of State Legislation: With the extensive technology embedded in today’s farm equipment, legal questions arise as to a farmer’s ability to perform routine maintenance and repairs on their machinery. Right to Repair statutes have been pursued as a means to ensure that agricultural producers have certain rights and legal protection to engage in this maintenance and repair. In this webinar, Ross Pifer, Director of the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, provided an overview of Right to Repair statutes, discussed the current status of legislation and more. Find a recording of this webinar here.

Blog posts:

• Buzzing Home: FWS Determines No Critical Habitat for Bumblebee Species
• Conservation Clarified: USDA Issues New Rules for Conservation Provisions
• Welcome Micah Brown!
• Show Me the Money: A Primer on Agricultural Lending
• Murky Tides: EPA Sued for Chesapeake Bay Cleanup
• Welcome Sarah Catherine Copper!
• Putting All the Eggs in One Basket: FSIS Updates Egg Products Inspection Regulations
• Stuck in the Swamp? A Look at Prior-Converted Croplands Under Swampbuster
• Bankruptcy on the Farm: A Look at the Chapter 12 Option

Outreach

• Center Director Harrison Pittman spoke at the Texas A&M Law Review Fall Symposium where he provided an agricultural law update regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Senior Staff Attorney Rusty Rumley was featured as a guest on the Ag Law Today podcast where he discussed the do’s and don’ts for agricultural leases. Find the full episode here.
• Senior Staff Attorney Elizabeth Rumley presented at the 2020 Southern Outlook Conference on the topic of ag policy and legal issues.
• Rusty, Harrison and Staff Attorney Brigit Rollins presented at a CLE conference for members of the USDA National Appeals Division
• Rusty gave a presentation to members of a University of Arkansas farm apprenticeship program where he discussed liability, insurance and business organizations.
• Rusty spoke at a meeting for the Small Farm Project at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff where he discussed heir property
• Harrison contributed an article to Arkansas Agriculture Magazine, providing an agricultural law update.