Adapting to the Changing World of Biotechnology: Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation as Regulation by Litigation

Agriculture has relied on plant breeding to improve genetics since the first domestication of agricultural plants 10,000 years ago. More recently, Gregor Mendel and his hybridization experiments on peas led to what we know as modern genetics. The rise in recombinantDNA technology has opened up many possibilities in plant breeding, including Roundup Ready technology and crop varieties designed to resist a number of pests. At the same time, governments and the private sector have sought to institute regulations for handling the releases of new biotechnology to ensure the technologies will have limited environmental impacts and provide safe foods to the public. These rules and requirements vary from nation to nation. This Article uses a recent example—the Syngenta AG MIR162 corn litigation—and its potential impact on the future development and releases of biotechnology as an illustration. Although Syngenta received proper approvals for the use of genetic events MIR162 and Event 5307 in the U.S. and with trade associations like the National Corn Growers Association prior to their commercialization, the genetic events were not approved in all markets

New Coronavirus Food Assistance Program May Provide Relief to Maryland Growers Due to COVID-19 Losses

USDA recently announced the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), a program of financial assistance for growers impacted by disruptions due to COVID-19, specifically for commodities which have seen a 5 percent loss or greater in price decline or losses due to supply chain disruptions. Eligible growers will receive a one-time payment from two possible funding sources, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act. Signup begins May 26, 2020, and runs through August 28, 2020

Crops, Livestock, and COVID-19, Oh My: An Overview Of Potential Covid-19 Liability In Agricultural Operations

The year 2020 presented a new potential risk of which many business owners, including agricultural operators, were unaware: a global pandemic related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, also known as COVID-19. Starting in March 2020, the United States worked to contain this virus, while businesses sought to protect their workers (who had to continue working to work) as well as their customers. At the same time, a number of businesses had concerns about how to limit liability from customers arguing later that the business had spread the virus. This Article explores the potential liability agricultural operations face and ways to manage the risks associated with COVID-19. Part II looks at what the virus is. Part III explores potential liability, and Part IV details potential methods to manage and limit that liability. Part V concludes

Investing in an Agricultural Legacy

America\u27s agricultural producers continue to age. According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, the average age of farm operators increased from 55.3 in 2002 to 57.1 in 2007. During the same period, the Census shows a thirty percent decrease in the number of farmers under age 25. Young and beginning producers (YBPs) entering agriculture face high startup costs and a shortage of land to own or rent. With these concerns in mind, this manuscript details the impact of an innovative proposed loan program for YBPs in Arkansas, which would offer concessionary interest rates and loan fees by participating banks for adopting selections from a menu of practices that achieve environmental improvements along with maintaining or improving farm profits on cropland. The practices selected for this proposed loan program include: (1) conservation tillage; (2) integrated pest management; (3) buffers; (4) cover crops; (5) land leveling; (6) underground irrigation pipe; (7) crop rotations; (8) tailwater recovery systems; (9) planting seed varieties that require less water, fertilizer, chemicals, or other inputs; and (10) following the irrigation and planting standards in the Arkansas crop production handbooks. The proposed project would help these YBPs become more profitable producers, reduce FCS\u27s risk on loaning to YBPs, and help create a new class of potential borrowers who need a little extra assistance to become more successful over the longer term. To measure the loan program\u27s impact, budgets were developed for corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, and wheat prior to loan program participation. Budgets were then developed and compared to determine the YBP profitability on these five crops from adoption of no-till, a crop rotation, or a no-till crop rotation and program participation. Results indicate YBP per acre profitability is improved from loan program participation and adopting program practices

Beyond Crop Insurance: Overview of the 2012 Disaster Assistance

USDA-RMA, University of Maryland Extension, and Maryland Department of Agricultur

An Overview of Arkansas\u27 Right-to-Farm-Law

In the1980s, state legislatures in all fifty states enacted statutes commonly referred to as right-to-farm laws. Arkansas enacted its right-to-farm law ( the Act ) in 1981. While there are similarities, these laws differ from state-to-state. All right-to-farm laws provide agricultural producers with statutory defenses to nuisance challenges, subject to certain conditions. As one scholar has noted, right-to-farm laws are designed to protect existing farm investments by reducing actions under nuisance law that enjoined agricultural activities. These laws also work to preserve farmland and protect established farmland from the pressures of urbanization, allowing farmers to continue with their husbandry pursuits rather than enjoining them from farming due to the presence of a nuisance