Did you know that the US Department of Agriculture administers agriculture mediation programs organized at the state level to help mediate right-to-farm and federal farm program disputes for free? You can find the fact sheet for the program here. I am on the agriculture mediation roster for both New York and New Jersey, and pending admission on the Illinois roster. …
New York, like most states, has its own “right-to-farm” law. Unfortunately for neighbors that are complaining of activities that are due to farming, right-to-farm laws serve to protect qualifying farmers and ranchers from nuisance lawsuits filed by individuals who move into a rural area where normal farming operations exist, and who later use nuisance actions to attempt to stop those …
[slideshare id=67083532&doc=overviewoftheveterinaryfeeddirective-161012174759] This presentation was created for the upcoming Lawline.com presentation titled “Lawyer’s Guide to the Veterinary Feed Directive.” The Lawline presentation will be on November 3, 2016 at 3:30pm ET. It is a more expanded presentation from the one that I gave a few weeks ago in Oklahoma City, OK at the American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) Annual Meeting. …
This is Part 6 of a 6 Part Blog Series on “How to Make a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) Request“. Make sure to read the previous 5 blog posts to get the full picture! Step 6: Review FOIA Request After the agency has received your fees, it will process your request. The agency may send you a written “initial determination” …
This is Part 5 of a 6 Part Blog Series on “How to Make a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) Request“. Please stay tuned for the other blogs for the full picture! Step 5: Pay Fees There is no initial fee to file a FOIA request; however, federal agencies are allowed to request “reasonable standard charges for document search, duplication, …
Retailers who accept SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, are subject to random inspections by undercover United State Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) inspectors. The undercover inspectors check to see if retailers are selling unauthorized items or if the retailer is involved in trafficking, which is the exchange of money for food stamps. In the event that the undercover investigator …
This is Part 2 of a 6 Part Blog Series on “How to Make a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) Request“. Please stay tuned for the other blogs for the full picture! Step 2: Choose The Government Agency or Agencies To Request Documents On either the federal or state level, there is not one central office that manages all …
Accepting SNAP benefits allows a retailer to provide staple foods to members of the community who would be otherwise unable to afford basics. Being licensed to accept SNAP benefits also comes with the responsibility of ensuring that all SNAP regulations are followed. This includes ensuring that employees do not allow customers to use SNAP benefits for unauthorized items, such as …
One of the most important parts of becoming an authorized retailer that accepts SNAP benefits is to ensure that employees are properly trained in the policies of accepting food stamps. The United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) requires that all SNAP authorized firms be able to demonstrate that there is an established training policy in place as well as a …
Any business licensed to accept SNAP benefits must have a training policy in place to teach employees appropriate procedures for accepting food stamps. Having a good training policy is only helpful if SNAP authorized retailers also have a compliance policy in effect to ensure that the regulations are being properly followed. Compliance policies that the United States Department of Agriculture …
This is my powerpoint presentation from the direct farm marketing, agri-tourism and local food presentation that I gave at the University of Tennessee about a month ago. My part of the presentation focuses on Community Supported Agriculture (“CSA”) Agreements, volunteer farm labor and the USDA Statistics from the Census of Agriculture on local food and direct farm marketing. Here is …
I am a panelist next month in Tennessee and “Agritourism, CSA’s and Direct to Consumer Sales.” This outline was prepared for this panel. It contains both New York and Tennessee nuances. It discusses statistics re local food from the USDA Census of Agriculture and delves into Community Supported Agriculture, Farmers’ Markets, Agrotourism, Volunteer Farm Labor and Employment Law, On-Farm Poultry Slaughter, …