Written by M. Sean High—Staff Attorney
The following information is an update of recent
local, state, national, and international legal developments relevant to
agriculture:
Labor:
Agricultural Guestworker Legislation Delayed
On October 4, 2017, Brownfield Ag News reported
that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-Va.) proposed Agricultural
Guestworker Act has experienced a committee dely. Introduced in the House on October 3, 2017,
the offered
legislation would create a new agricultural guestworker program for U.S. farmers
and ranchers. Prior to the delay, Chairman
Goodlatte’s bill had been scheduled to go to the Judiciary Committee for
markups on October 4, 2017. No rescheduling
of the legislation with the Judiciary Committee was announced.
Labor:
Pennsylvania Announces New Agricultural Apprenticeship Program
On October 10, 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture (PDA) announced
the creation an agricultural equipment service technician apprenticeship
program. According to PDA, the program
will help students acquire “Jobs that Pay” through the development of “hands-on
skills in science, technology, engineering, and math.” Sponsored by the Northeast Equipment Dealers
Association, the program is also intended to resolve anticipated workforce shortfalls
resulting from the retirement of more than 1,000 of Pennsylvania’s agricultural
equipment service technicians by 2027.
Food
Safety: San Francisco to Require Large Grocery Stores to Disclose Antibiotics
in Meat
On October 3, 2017, the San Francisco Examiner reported
that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved an ordinance requiring
that large grocery stores in the city submit annual reports detailing the use
of antibiotics in raw meats and poultry products. According to the ordinance,
antimicrobial drugs found in meat and poultry pose an environmental and public
health threat by allowing antibiotic-resistant bacteria to multiply and spread. The ordinance seeks to reduce this threat by
requiring grocery stores operating in the city, which also own or operate 25 or
more grocery stores anywhere, to annually report antimicrobial information to
the Department of the Environment (Department).
Upon receiving the annual reports, the Department will make public the
information through publication on its website.
Labor:
California Enacts Legislation to Limit Immigration Enforcement
On October 5, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown
signed into law legislation
preventing employers from allowing immigration enforcement agents onto the
employer’s private business property without a judicial warrant. Additionally, the law requires that upon receiving
notice of an immigration agency inspection of employment records, employers have
72 hours to notify workers of the scheduled inspection. Failure to follow the law could result in penalties
ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 for a first violation and from $5,000 to $10,000
for each subsequent violation.
Conservation:
USDA to Temporarily Suspend Acceptance of New Conservation Reserve Program
Offers
On October 6, 2017, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) announced
that the agency will temporarily suspend the acceptance of new offers for land
enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) until later in the 2018
fiscal year. According to USDA, the
reason for the temporary suspension of new offers is to avoid exceeding CRP’s 24
million acre statutory limit. USDA did
state, however, that except for offers made under the Pollinator Habitat
Initiative, the agency will approval all eligible CRP continuous enrollment
offers that were extended through Sept. 30, 2017.
International
Trade: USDA Withdraws Changes to Apple and Grape Exporter Reporting
On October 5, 2017, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service announced
the agency was withdrawing proposed changes to the regulations governing how apple
and grape exporters report certificate information. According to the announcement, the proposed changes
would have mandated that apple and grape exporters submit export certification information
electronically into the U.S. Census Bureau’s Automated Export System. Additionally, under the proposed changes, the
regulations would have provided for a definition of the term “shipper” and transferred
the certificate retention requirement from carriers to shippers. According to USDA, the decision to withdrawal
the proposed changes was based upon public comments received by the agency.
Pennsylvania
Legislation
Agricultural and Rural Affairs (S) and Agricultural
and Rural Affairs (H)
- Joint informational meeting to discuss the Spotted Lanternfly, a non-native species with the potential to greatly impact the grape, tree fruit, plant nursery, hops and logging industries; quarantines have been established in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton Counties and there is growing concern regarding its spread (October 18, 2017, Hearing Room 1 North Office Bldg. 9:00 AM)
AgLaw HotLinks:
- USDA Invests in 48 Projects in Local Watersheds to Protect Communities and Vital Infrastructure – USDA NRCS
- California’s Egg Laws Affecting Production, Prices – Feedstuffs
- U.S. endorses Dairy Declaration of Rotterdam – Feedstuffs
- Ag Data: Who is Driving the Bus? – Ag Web
- USDA Wants to Hear from Stakeholders about Statistical Programs – USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
- Japan Sees Little Reason So far to Revise GE Labeling – USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
- The Jamaican Apple Pickers of Upstate New York – The New York Times
- US Agriculture Often Bears the Cost of Trade Disputes – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, Farmdoc Daily
- Dicamba latest: Monsanto responds to Arkansas Plant Board actions – Delta Farm Press
- Chicago hates the soda pop tax; repeal vote likely this week – Food Safety News
- Poor Nations Need Farm Investment or Face Importing More Food – Bloomberg
- Three quarters of honey worldwide contain pesticides study finds- Food Navigator
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