In April of 2014, Vermont became the first state in the United States to require that all food products sold within the state of Vermont have a label indicating if it contains genetically modified ingredients. The law also prohibits manufacturers from writing “natural” or “all-natural” if a food product does contain GMOs. The law goes into effect in July 2016, …
Grow NYC Report on Greenmarket Farmers: “Farmers on the Edge”
Last month, I had an opportunity to visit with someone at Grow NYC (who runs Greenmarket), who shared this report with me (funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation): “Farmers on the Edge: An Assessment of Greenmarket Farmers’ Needs, and the Growing Challenges of Keeping Their Farms Viable.” I finally had an opportunity to review the report in detail. It …
5 State Approaches for Using Animal Societies to Enforce Animal Cruelty Statutes
As I have noted in this blog on several occasions, duly incorporated animal societies in the State of New York have the authority to search and seize livestock. This article does a nice job illustrating the five state law approaches with using animal societies to enforce livestock animal cruelty laws. Ordinary Rights The majority of states have this approach. In …
Upcoming ABA Crop & Livestock Insurance CLE
As part of my new leadership role with the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee, I have been busy helping plan a Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) webinar on crop and livestock insurance. This program will lay down the fundamental building blocks for practicing either crop and or livestock insurance law. Please mark your …
ABA Agriculture Law Subcommittees
As I noted in this previous post, I am the new Chair of the American Bar Association (“ABA”), General Practice, Solo and Small Firm’s Division, Agriculture Law Committee. You can join the Committee and the Discussion List here. I have restructured the subcommittees as follows: 1. Ag ADR: mediation, arbitration 2. Ag Estate/Succession Planning, Family Law, and Taxation: estate planning,succession …
What Is The Animal Cruelty Law In Your State?
This weekend I discovered that the National Agriculture Law Center has a helpful state-by-state analysis of animal cruelty laws in the United States. Even though there are several federal statutes that regulate this issue, animal cruelty statutes vary significantly from state-to-state. It is interesting to pull up the statutes in various states and run a comparison. Though the National Agriculture …
Completed the Beef Quality Assurance Producer Certification Manual
As I noted in this blog a few months ago, I am currently completing the Beef Quality Assurance (“BQA”) training through the New York Beef Industry Council, Inc. Last weekend, I have reviewed the Producer Certification Manual for the Mid-Atlantic region (which includes Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Maine, New Jersey and Vermont). After reviewing the materials, I …