Should Rural Landowners be Worried about PFAS?

Should Rural Landowners be Worried about PFAS?

How worried should farmers and rural landowners be about PFAS liability?

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Prop 12: Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to California's Law Impacting National Hog Market

Prop 12: Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to California's Law Impacting National Hog Market

On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to California’s Prop 12 law, dealing a blow to livestock agriculture.

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The Big Stories from 2022

The Big Stories from 2022

Brianna counts down the top stories of 2022 and looks ahead to 2023.

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How Did Prop 12 Become a Morality Case?

How Did Prop 12 Become a Morality Case?

The U.S. Supreme Court recently held argument on California’s Prop 12, which bans the sale of pork from hogs that don’t meet the state’s production standards. In this agriculture case, why were the Justices so focused on a state’s ability to legislate morality across state lines?

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A Bee is a Fish; an Elephant is not a Human

A Bee is a Fish; an Elephant is not a Human

If the title of this blog confuses you, welcome to the club! Two recent court decisions have sent us back to high school science class. Let’s take a look.

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Preparing for a Zoning Hearing

Preparing for a Zoning Hearing

Here in Indiana, the fight against livestock and solar farms seemed to have moved to the county level. Landowners can do a few things to improve their chances of obtaining the necessary county zoning approval for a new project.

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State Legislation Threatening Livestock Farms

State Legislation Threatening Livestock Farms

While we are all watching to see what the Supreme Court does with California’s Prop 12, other state livestock laws have popped up across the country. Some could put livestock farms out of business entirely.

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Supreme Court will Consider Whether California Pork Law Violates Constitution

Supreme Court will Consider Whether California Pork Law Violates Constitution

On March 28, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to decide whether pork producers can sue over California’s Proposition 12, which regulates pork farmers’ practices nationwide.

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Lessons from Criminal Prosecution of Pennsylvania Dairy Farm

Lessons from Criminal Prosecution of Pennsylvania Dairy Farm

A Pennsylvania Court of Appeals recently directed a local prosecutor to bring charges against a dairy farm for animal abuse and cruelty based on a private criminal complaint filed by an activist group.

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Zoning Hot Topics: Agriculture Edition

Zoning Hot Topics: Agriculture Edition

I recently presented at the Indiana Farm Bureau’s first-ever zoning school and discussed three “hot zoning topics.” Three issues came to mind: solar ordinances, moratoria, and spite structures.

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Methane Gas and Livestock Farms -- a Win for Agriculture

Methane Gas and Livestock Farms -- a Win for Agriculture

Dairy farms—and other livestock operations—can be a leader in the battle against climate change. Emissions from livestock farms should be measured differently than the emissions from fossil fuels.

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Animal Agriculture and Contract Disruptions

Animal Agriculture and Contract Disruptions

Contracts are being disrupted, cancelled, and breached because of COVID-19 and the economic ripples it has caused throughout the world. No one is exempt from this.

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Protecting the Farm With and From Technology

Protecting the Farm With and From Technology

Farm security involves proper animal care, screening and training employees, and physically hardening the farm’s boundaries. Now it also requires the use of and defense against high tech cameras, drones, and virtual reality.

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Indiana Agriculture Leaders Travel to Asia

Indiana Agriculture Leaders Travel to Asia

I am fortunate to be a member of the AgriInstitute Agricultural Leadership Program (ALP) Class 18. At the end of February, we will travel to South Korea and Laos as the capstone to our two-year leadership program.

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Carbon Credits for Cows

Carbon Credits for Cows

Livestock farmers are famous for their efficiency — livestock farms grow crops which they feed to their animals and then use the manure from the animals to fertilize their crops. This mindset makes farmers perfectly situated to participate in the carbon credit marketplace.

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Regenerative Agriculture and Livestock

Regenerative Agriculture and Livestock

While animal agriculture is often a target in the climate change battle, recent research shows livestock could play an important role in reducing CO2 emissions.

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You Can't Make Everybody Happy All the Time: the Costco Chicken Story

You Can't Make Everybody Happy All the Time: the Costco Chicken Story

We’ve written before on consumer demand’s impact on agriculture. Non-GMO, organic, cage-free, sustainable, antibiotic-free, lab-grown…there is a long list of products developed to meet new consumer demand. As Costco has been finding out, not all attempts to meet consumer demands can make everybody happy all of the time.

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Row Crops Changing to Meet Consumer Demands

Row Crops Changing to Meet Consumer Demands

Tyson Foods recently announced plans to improve environmental practices on two million acres of corn by the end of 2020. This is another example of consumer demands changing how farmers farm.

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Consumer Demands are Changing Livestock Farms

Consumer Demands are Changing Livestock Farms

Consumers have an endless variety of options at the grocery store these days. How are consumer demands impacting livestock farms?

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Omnibus Bill Removes Livestock Air Emissions Reporting Requirement

Omnibus Bill Removes Livestock Air Emissions Reporting Requirement

The 2018 federal omnibus spending bill fixed the problem caused by a federal court regarding air emissions reporting requirements for livestock operations. 

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