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A Project of the Agricultural & Food Law Consortium

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Penn State receives $2.3 million organic-agriculture research grant

Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agriculture Sciences have been awarded a $2.3 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture...

Texas rice industry represented in Cuba

This week, U.S. rice industry representatives are gathering in Havana for the annual International Trade Fair of Havana (FIHAV) in hopes...

Gates Foundation partners with Brazil on agriculture development work

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation signed a deal with the Brazilian government to collaborate on agriculture projects in sub-Saharan Africa...

North Dakota farmers push for constitutional right to farm

The North Dakota Farm Bureau is gathering support for a proposed constitutional amendment that would restrict regulation of farming and ranching...

U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Delta Smelt case

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal by Central California farmers who claimed the federal government lacks constitutional authority to...

USDA Invests in Crop Insurance Education

Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) will support crop...

New Rice Varieties Offer Benefits to Growers

According to a USDA press release, new rice varieties that offer new options for U.S. growers and expanded market opportunities for...

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Funding to Expand the Production and Availability of Advanced Biofuels

Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced payments for 156 advanced biofuel producers across the country to support the production and expansion...

USDA Announces Grants to Support Food and Agricultural Sciences Education at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded 20 competitive grants to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in six states and Puerto Rico...

Senators help extend comment period for proposed farm labor rule

Thirty-two Senators joined together to ask Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to give farmers and ranchers adequate time to comment on the...

Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act to be introduced in Congress

Last week, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree announced that they will introduce the Local Farms, Food, and...

Bill Would Make Selling Fraudulent Maple Syrup A Felony Offense

This month, U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced legislation to make the fraudulent sale of maple syrup...

Cost of Senate Inaction on Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act

The Washington Examiner published an editorial by Agricultural Committee Chairman Frank D. Lucas yesterday, calling on the Senate to take action...

Statements by Attorney General Holder and Agricultural Secretary Vilsack on Court Approval of Pigford II Settlement Agreement

Attorney General Eric Holder and Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack released the following statements on the U.S. Disrict Court for the District...

Court approves $1.15 billion settlement for black farmers in Pigford II

Yesterday, a judge approved a $1.15 billion settlement in the decades old class action suit filed by black farmers against the...

USDA tightens belt by cutting agriculture reports

The U.S. Agriculture Department has kept tabs for decades on a wide range of agricultural industries that generate billions of dollars...

Vilsack sees farm bill urging conservation

This week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack stated that he is not proposing the linking of conservation compliance with subsidized...

USDA seeks comments on amendments establishing a controlled import permit

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing to amend regulations concerning the importation...

USDA Grants Protection to 45 New Plant Varieties

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of 45 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants....