What Is (and What Isn’t) a “Wetland"
(Editor’s Note: With hundreds of rivers and tributaries (not to mention the Chesapeake Bay), rules defining “what is a wetland” are critically important for the state’s Agriculture industry. Here, Gary Baise explores what is (and what isn’t) a wetland under new rules proposed by the Trump Administration – and what they can mean for Virginia’s farmers.) What Is […]
Smithfield Gag Order Lifted
Smithfield and its subsidiary, Murphy-Brown, have won an important First Amendment gag order case in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Smithfield’s subsidiary has lost 3 times in U.S. District Court. On April 26, 2018, a jury ruled Smithfield and its subsidiary were liable for $50 million to ten plaintiffs in cases where hog […]
Christmas Comes from Purdue Affidavit
State Attorneys General Curtis Hill, IN, Josh Hawley, MO, Leslie Rutledge, AK, Wayne Stenehjem ND, Sean Reyes UT, and many others have filed Bills of Complaint against California and Massachusetts in the United States Supreme Court in an effort to defend agriculture. (What a Christmas present!) Purdue University, through Jayson Lusk, delivers a large Christmas […]
Missouri scrambles California’s eggs
Egg production costs soar nationwide, thanks to California’s cage regulations. Now other states are fighting back. Yesterday, the Attorney General of Missouri filed a Motion for Leave to File a Bill of Complaint in the United States Supreme Court, charging California with violations of the Constitution. The Bill of Complaint “…involves a single State’s (California) […]
EPA Inspector General criticizes EPA for foot dragging
EPA’s Inspector General (IG) claims EPA has not developed emission estimation methods (EEM) to determine whether concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) comply with the Clean Air Act (CAA). The IG Report, while not receiving much publicity, will eventually impact animal feeding operations throughout the country. The report on September 19, 2017 is on EPA’s website at www.EPA.gov/oig. It is […]
Study Questions Ethanol's Image
The Heritage Foundation Blueprint for Agriculture includes a lengthy chapter on U.S. biofuels policy and the renewable fuel standard (RFS). Heritage concludes that ethanol and other current biofuels are harmful to agriculture, the environment, and consumer. My first two reviews of Heritage’s positions on ag, found here and here, may have concerned you; I suspect the […]
Heritage Foundation's blueprint for upcoming 2018 farm bill
Last September the conservative leaning Heritage Foundation issued a report entitled “Farms and Free Enterprise: A Blueprint for Agricultural Policy”. The Report (Here) reviews agricultural policies which Heritage believes needs to be changed and eliminated. This did not go unnoticed. One group, Farm Policy Facts, issued a press release on April 25, 2017, claiming “The […]
Environmental organizations attack large-scale livestock farmers
A petition to substantially increase regulation of CAFOs was filed on March 9, 2017, with EPA. Environmental groups claimed in the petition that “Decades after passage of the CWA, CAFOs remain a significant – and substantially unregulated – source of water pollution throughout the United States.” Environmental groups also declare “EPA has significant authority to […]
Hens win! Animal welfare claims can’t stand up in court
On Feb. 27, 2017, the 9th Circuit United States Court of Appeals issued a common sense opinion regarding housing and safety conditions where hens lay eggs. Compassion Over Killing, Animal Legal Defense Fund, (NGOs) and 6 individuals claimed FDA, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Federal Trade Commission were required […]
Criminal case brought against egg farmer
“On or about February 10, 2016, in the above named judicial district, the crime of FARM ANIMAL CRUELTY, in violation of HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE SECTION 25990, a misdemeanor, was committed by Robert Allen Hohberg, Hohberg’s Poultry Ranches and Hohberg Properties, L.P., who unlawfully confined a covered animal, on a farm, for all or the […]