Making Agriculture a Part of the Solution
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Farmers are positioned to be the heroes—not the villains—of our country’s next chapter.
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The Schroeder Ag Blog addresses issues facing farmers, ranchers, and businesses involved with livestock, dairy, and meat production.
Predictions for WOTUS under President Biden
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We are about one month away from a change in presidential administrations. The Biden administration will likely bring many obvious changes to the federal government, but will it impact whether the government has jurisdiction over ground or waters on your property? In other words, will the Biden government seek to change the definition of WOTUS?
Read MoreZoning for Solar Farms
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Solar farms are the latest and hottest kid on the block when it comes to renewable energy in the midwest. This post addresses local government considerations as counties and cities welcome solar power.
Read MoreSmokeable Hemp - Off Again in Indiana
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The Seventh Circuit overturned an injunction meant to halt an Indiana law which bans smokeable hemp. This puts the law back in play unless and until a more narrow injunction is entered.
Read More"Open Fields" in Indiana: Can the Government Secretly Record Your Property?
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Here in Indiana, can the government secretly record you and your family while you’re in the fields? A recent Farm Journal article on the “Open Fields” doctrine shines a light on this very practice in Tennessee.
Read MoreThe Worst Hard Time: Wheat Farms Blown Away
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Sixty years ago today (July 7), Hugh Bennett died. He was the “father of soil conservation” and was instrumental in slowing the ravages of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. His ideas were radical then, but helped us overcome The Worst Hard Time.
Read MoreDicamba Confusion - Update!
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The EPA is defending its decision to allow farmers and commercial applicators to use “existing stocks” of three Dicamba products (XtendiMax, Engenia, and FeXapan) even though it recently cancelled the registration of those herbicides.
Read MoreDicamba Confusion
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On June 3, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the EPA registration of three dicamba herbicides. After five days, the EPA issued a cancellation order for the chemicals. The agency will permit growers and commercial applicators to use existing stocks of the herbicides.
Read MoreAnimal Agriculture and Contract Disruptions
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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.
Read MoreCOVID19 & Force Majeure in Agricultural Contracts
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Some contracts include a force majeure provision that excuses parties from their obligations if an unexpected event occurs. Does the current COVID-19 outbreak qualify? It all depends on the specific contract language.
Read MorePreparing the Farm for the Novel Coronavirus
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The warnings are dire—the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) now poses a significant risk here in the United States. What can a farm or agricultural business do to prepare? Five ideas.
Read MoreProtecting the Farm With and From Technology
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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.
Read MoreWOTUS Changes....Again
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The Trump administration released its new Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) on January 23, 2020. This blog explores how that change affects US agriculture.
Read MoreIndiana Agriculture Leaders Travel to Asia
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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.
Read MoreProtect Your Farm Against Undercover Video
/Farms can take certain steps to avoid being the target of the activist groups that use undercover videos in an attempt to turn consumers against commercial livestock production.
Read MoreInterim Hemp Rule: THC Testing
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The USDA released its Interim Final Hemp Production Rule on October 29, 2019. This article gives an overview of the THC sampling and testing requirements.
Read MoreCarbon Credits for Cows
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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.
Read MoreZoning Concerns for Urban Farms
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Farmers—urban, indoor, or otherwise—should keep local zoning in mind when considering whether to start or expand a farm. Zoning presents a handful of potential issues.
Read MoreRegenerative Agriculture and Livestock
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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.
Read MoreGroundwater as a Point Source?
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The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral argument this fall regarding whether the discharge of pollutants through groundwater requires an NPDES permit.
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The updated Core Principles for Ag Data now address the need for simple contracts, properly identifying data sharing partners, anonymization and AI.