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Written by:\u00a0 <\/span> Brook Duer\u2014Staff Attorney<\/span> Want to listen to this Weekly Review? Check out the<\/span> <\/span>Penn State Agricultural Law Podcast<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dean Foods Bankruptcy: Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board Negotiates Nationwide Solution to Preference Payment Claims<\/span><\/p>\n On December 9, 2020, the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board (PMMB), partnering with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> that it had negotiated with the St. Paul, Minnesota, law firm representing the Chapter 11 bankruptcy estate of Dean Foods, ASK LLP.\u00a0 As a result, the PMMB prepared, and posted on the PMMB website, <\/span>forms which can be downloaded, completed by producers and milk haulers in any state in the country, and mailed to ASK LLP<\/span><\/a> as soon as possible as a response to the demand letters asserting claims for the repayment of thousands of dollars of milk check proceeds.\u00a0 For more background, see <\/span>ALWR-week ending December 4, 2020<\/span><\/a>, \u201cDean Foods Bankruptcy Estate Threatens Dairy Producers with Lawsuits to Recoup Alleged Preference Payments.\u201d\u00a0 Depending upon the content, accuracy and completeness of the information provided, the forms provide information that the bankruptcy estate\u2019s legal counsel has agreed may be sufficient to prove all payments from Dean were made in the normal course of business and as required by law, and sufficient to have the claims for repayment completely withdrawn.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n International Trade:\u00a0 First USMCA Enforcement Action Filed Against Canada<\/span><\/p>\n On December 9, 2020, The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> that it was providing official notice to Canada that the United States is commencing the process to enforce the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by <\/span>letter<\/span><\/a> to Canada\u2019s Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ngin.\u00a0 The letter formally requests \u201cconsultations\u201d with the government of Canada to discuss Canada\u2019s allocation of dairy tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) (the allocation of an imported commodity allowed at a reduced tariff rate).\u00a0 The Dairy TRQs reserve a large share of each dairy TRQ for \u201cprocessors,\u201d and \u201cfurther processors,\u201d which the USTR letter alleges is inconsistent with multiple provisions of the USMCA.\u00a0 The USTR alleges that Canada has undermined the ability of American dairy farmers and producers to utilize the agreed-upon TRQs and sell a wide range of dairy products to Canadian consumers.\u00a0 Requesting consultation is the first step in the WTO dispute resolution process.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Food Labeling: Denial of Injunction Against Oklahoma Meat Labeling Law Appealed\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On December 11, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma entered an <\/span>order staying the proceedings<\/span><\/a> in the case captioned <\/span>Upton\u2019s Naturals Co. v. Stitt<\/span> (No. <\/span>5:20-cv-00938<\/span><\/a>).\u00a0 This followed the Plaintiffs\u2019 November 23, 2020 <\/span>notice<\/span><\/a> appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit the Court\u2019s <\/span>November 19, 2020 Order<\/span><\/a> denying a preliminary injunction on First Amendment grounds against <\/span>Oklahoma\u2019s Meat Consumer Protection Act<\/span><\/a> (Act), enacted in May 2020.\u00a0 The Act requires product packaging for plant-based meat-substitutes to display that the product is derived from plant-based sources in type that is uniform in size and prominence to the name of the product.\u00a0 In the decision, the Court found that Upton\u2019s Naturals use of the terms burger, bacon, chorizo, hot dog, jerky, meatballs, steak on plant-based products are potentially misleading to a reasonable customer. <\/span>See <\/span>ALWR\u2014week ending May 29, 2020<\/span><\/a>, \u201cOklahoma Enacts Meat Labeling Law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Dairy Policy: USDA Announces Section 32 Purchases of Milk and Butter<\/span><\/p>\n On December 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> that, under USDA\u2019s <\/span>Section 32 Program<\/span><\/a>, it will purchase $60 million in fluid milk and $50 million in butter, which it will distribute to various food nutrition programs.\u00a0 According to the announcement, USDA will solicit fluid milk in December 2020 and February 2021 for distribution in the first and second quarters of 2021, and will solicit butter in May and August 2021 for distribution in quarters three and four.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Agribusiness: U.S. Grain Standards Act Reauthorized<\/span><\/p>\n On December 11, 2020, President Trump signed into law the <\/span>United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020<\/span><\/a> (Act) which reauthorizes through federal fiscal year 2025 the United States Grain Standards Act, first passed in 1916 and recently expired on September 30, 2020.\u00a0 The Act authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish official marketing standards for grains, and to provide procedures for grain inspection and weighing.<\/span><\/p>\n Packers and Stockyards Act: USDA Issues Final Rule on Definition of Undue and Unreasonable Preferences or Advantages<\/span><\/p>\n On December 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published in the Federal Register a final rule titled,<\/span> <\/span>\u201cUndue and Unreasonable Preferences and Advantages Under the Packers and Stockyards Act\u201d (<\/span>85 FR 79779<\/span><\/a>).\u00a0 <\/span>Announced<\/span><\/a> on December 10, 2020, the final rule details four criteria for consideration by the Secretary of Agriculture when determining whether a packer, swine contractor, or live poultry dealer has given an \u201cundue or unreasonable preference or advantage\u201d to any buyer or seller: whether the preference or advantage cannot be justified by: (a) cost savings related to dealing with different producers, sellers or growers; (b) meeting a competitor\u2019s prices or other terms, or (c) as a reasonable business decision. For background, see <\/span>ALWR-January 16, 2020<\/span><\/a>, \u201cUSDA Proposes Long-Delayed Change to Packers and Stockyards Act Regulations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Animal Health: APHIS Reopens Public Comment Period On FMD Vaccine Petition\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On December 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> its reopening of the comment period on a petition to manufacture a Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine in the United States, originally posted on July 14, 2020 (<\/span>85 FR 42346<\/span><\/a>)<\/span>.\u00a0 The agency is <\/span>accepting comments<\/span><\/a> until January 4, 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Conservation Programs: USDA Announces Increase to Incentive Payments for Continuous Conservation Reserve Program\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On December 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced it is: (a) increasing the Practice Incentive Payment from five percent to twenty percent for installing eligible conservation practices; and (b) creating a Practice Incentive Payment of ten percent for installing eligible water quality practices; on land enrolled in the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Industrial Hemp:\u00a0 Pennsylvania Opens 2021 Hemp Permit Application Process<\/span><\/p>\n On December 5, 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin the <\/span>General Permit Standards and Requirements for Hemp<\/span><\/a>, 50 Pa.B. 6906, effective upon publication and officially opening the 2021 hemp permit application process.\u00a0 All permitting information is available on the <\/span>PDA website<\/span><\/a>, along with an articulation of notable changes for the 2021 state hemp application requirements and program.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Agricultural Law\/Policy Resources of Interest:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, <\/span>Farm Focus (Podcast)<\/span><\/a>: Economy, Agriculture, and COVID (Dec. 8, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n Agricultural Economic Insights, LLC, <\/span>Escaping 1980 (Podcast)<\/span><\/a>: Episode 6\u2014Stability (Dec. 9, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n Tiffany Lashmet, <\/span>Appellate Court Affirms Liability in North Carolina Nuisance Case; Smithfield Announces Settlement<\/span><\/a> (Dec. 7, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n Paul Goeringer, <\/span>Maryland Court of Appeals Finds Farm Manager is not a Joint Employee of Poultry Farm<\/span><\/a> (Dec. 8, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n Sarah Catherine Copper, <\/span>Truth in Labeling Laws(uits) \u2013 Update<\/span><\/a> (Dec. 10, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n Penn State Research & News:<\/span><\/p>\n Understanding Agriculture\u2019s Impacts on ‘The Zone Where Rock Meets Life’<\/span><\/a> (Dec. 7, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n Could Spotted Owls Benefit from Forest Fires?<\/span><\/a> (Dec. 10, 20200.<\/span><\/p>\n AGENCY PRESS RELEASES\u2014STATE\/FEDERAL<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Press Releases:<\/span><\/p>\n Department Of Agriculture: 2021 Farm Show Butter Sculpture Cancelled Amid COVID-19 Resurgence<\/span><\/a> (Dec. 8, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n Department Of Agriculture Releases COVID-19 Restaurant Enforcement Actions, November 30 \u2013 December 6<\/span><\/a> (Dec. 9, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n Nation-Leading Pennsylvania Farmland Preservation Program Ends Year With 177 Farms, 14, 727 Acres Preserved<\/span><\/a> (Dec. 10, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Agency Press Releases:<\/span><\/p>\n Trump Administration Invests $12 Million in High-Speed Broadband in Rural Louisiana<\/span><\/a> (Dec. 9, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n USDA Announces Increase to Certain Incentive Payments for Continuous Conservation Reserve Program<\/span><\/a>, FSA (Dec. 9, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n Confirmation of COVID-19 in a Snow Leopard at a Kentucky Zoo<\/span><\/a>, APHIS (Dec. 11, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n STATE ACTIONS\u2014EXECUTIVE\/LEGISLATIVE<\/span><\/p>\n Pennsylvania Executive Agencies (<\/span>Pa. Bulletin Vol. 50, No. 50\u2014Dec. 12, 2020<\/span><\/a>):\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Environmental Hearing Board<\/span><\/p>\n 50 Pa.B. 7116<\/span><\/a> <\/span>Notice:<\/span> \u201cFish and Boat Commission v. Department of Environmental Protection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Fish and Boat Commission<\/span><\/p>\n 50 Pa.B. 7116<\/span><\/a> <\/span>Notice: <\/span>\u201cProposed Special Regulation Designations [Cumberland, Huntingdon Counties].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Pennsylvania Legislature<\/span><\/p>\n No actions Dec. 7\u201311, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n FEDERAL ACTIONS\u2014EXECUTIVE\/LEGISLATIVE<\/span><\/p>\n Federal Executive Agencies (<\/span>Federal Register<\/span><\/a> Dec. 7\u201311, 2020):\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Agriculture Department<\/span><\/p>\n 85 FR 78821<\/span><\/a> <\/span>Notice: <\/span>\u201cSubmission for OMB Review; Comment Request [Rural Business-Cooperative Service: Advanced Biofuel Payment Program]\u201d (Dec. 7, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n 85 FR 78989<\/span><\/a> <\/span>Notice: <\/span>\u201cSubmission for OMB Review; Comment Request [Rural Utilities Service: Rural Broadband Loans, Loan\/Grant Combinations, and Loan Guarantees]\u201d (Dec. 8, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span>Audry Thompson\u2014Research Assistant<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span>The Agricultural Law Weekly Review provides an update of recent agricultural law developments from local, state, national, and international levels.\u00a0 Subscribe at <\/span>pennstateaglaw.com<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n