Jun 10, 2022Biden Administration Announces Proposed Changes to the Poultry Tournament SystemThe article is not a substitute for legal advice. The Biden administration recently announced a proposed regulation to revise the Packers and Stockyards Act to require more disclosures to contract poultry growers. These regulations would fully replace the proposed regulations announced by the Trump administration. The regulations being proposed by…Poultry Farming4 min readPoultry Farming4 min read
May 15, 2022Recent Wind Farm Decision Highlights Difference in State ProcessesThe article is not a substitute for legal advice. A recent decision by Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals highlights the differences that proposed power generation facilities can bring before the Public Service Commission (PSC). For example, a proposed power generation facility can consider applying for a Certificate of Public Convenience…Renewable Energy5 min readRenewable Energy5 min read
May 8, 2022Interpreting Conservation Easements and When New Structures are AllowedThe article is not a substitute for legal advice. The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland recently reversed the Circuit Court for Howard County’s granting of summary judgment involving how to interpret a conservation easement. At issue in the decision is whether the easement allowed for additional residences to be…Conservation Easement5 min readConservation Easement5 min read
May 1, 2022Potential Class Action Lawsuit Filed Arguing Broiler Growers Are Employees of CompanyThe article is not a substitute for legal advice. An interesting potential class action was recently filed in U.S. district court in South Carolina involving a broiler grower and Amick Farms. In this class action suit, the grower argues that they and other similarly situated growers for Amick Farms are…Poultry Farm4 min readPoultry Farm4 min read
Jul 5, 2021Group Does Not Have Standing to Challenge USDA Loan Guarantee for Poultry FarmThis is not a substitute for legal advice. Back in 2018, I posted on a federal district court decision involving a challenge to a USDA loan guarantee granted to a new Maryland poultry farm in Caroline County. Food & Water Watch (FWW) had challenged the environmental assessment required at the…4 min read4 min read
Jun 28, 2021State Court Declines to Use Public Trust Doctrine in Lawsuit over Water QualityThis is not a substitute for legal advice. The Supreme Court of Iowa recently found that a dispute brought by two groups against the state of Iowa lacked standing and was not an issue the courts could decide. The two groups claim that excessive nitrate levels from agricultural runoff into…Iowa5 min readIowa5 min read
Apr 18, 2021Federal Judge Allows Lawsuit to Continue Against Hog FarmThis is not a substitute for legal advice. Late in 2020, we had a North Carolina Hog Farm Litigation settlement that ended several lawsuits filed against Murphy-Brown, LLC and Smithfield Foods. In May 2020, neighboring landowners filed a new set of federal lawsuits against Murphy-Brown and Smithfield, the same defendants…Right To Farm Law5 min readRight To Farm Law5 min read
Mar 26, 2021Maryland Circuit Court Judge Reverses Final Maryland AFO PermitThis is not a substitute for legal advice. Before reposting check with the author. Earlier this month, a circuit court judge in Montgomery County reversed the Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE) final 2020 Animal Feeding Operation (AFO) Discharge Permit for not considering ammonia emission discharges into the air…Poultry4 min readPoultry4 min read
Mar 3, 2021County Granting Special Exception for Solar Development Did Not Create a Vested RightThis is not a substitute for legal advice. Many past readers may remember the previous discussions on the Perennial Solar decision by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, which held that the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) statutory scheme, in approving Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity for 20 megawatts…Utility Scale Solar5 min readUtility Scale Solar5 min read
Feb 19, 2021Final Hemp Rule Published by USDAThis is not a substitute for legal advice. Editor’s note: Since publishing this article, the final hemp rule has gone into effect with no revisions from what is discussed in the article. On January 15, 2021, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published the final hemp rule for Hemp Domestic…Hemp4 min readHemp4 min read
