National AgLaw Center e-Newsletter

Since publication of the inaugural edition of the National Agricultural Law Center e-Newsletter two months ago, the number of new subscribers has been astounding and continues to grow. Thanks to all of you who have subscribed to the e-Newsletter and who have recommended the e-Newsletter to others. Much has occurred throughout the nation's agricultural community and, therefore, at the Center over the past couple of months, and I'd like to take a moment to share just a few of our recent activities and upcoming Center initiatives.

The Center is committed to enhancing the food law component of the website, including important legal and policy issues involving agricultural trade with China and other trading partners. The Center recently published an article pertaining to China food law, Introduction to Food Law in the People's Republic of China, and is actively working to enhance the Food Safety and Food Labeling Reading Rooms. The Overview articles published in those reading rooms have been carefully reviewed and updated where necessary. The Food Safety Case Law Index has been completed and was posted this week.

The Center continues to monitor farm bill developments being debated in Congress and streamline the dissemination of information pertaining to the farm bill. Numerous new and updated farm bill-related Congressional Research Service Reports are posted to the website each month. The volume and variety of farm bill-related agricultural and food law inquiries received from attorneys, the media, farmers, policymakers, and others throughout the nation continues to expand daily. Some of the recent inquiries raised questions about the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, pesticide registration, farm bill issues, the Packers and Stockyards Act, and legal issues pertaining renewable fuels.

One major effort the Center will implement in the weeks ahead is to significantly increase the number of publications written by authors from throughout the United States, particularly law review articles, published on the Center website. In particular, the Center has commissioned and will soon publish an article that addresses arbitration in the context of federal crop insurance litigation. Placing an increased emphasis on the publication and republication of articles will enhance this feature of the Center's research and information mission and better serve the nation's agricultural community. The Center will also emphasize the publication of materials that receive limited circulation, such as briefs in important agricultural cases and locally circulated continuing legal education publications.

As always, if the Center can be of any assistance to you or if you have suggestions on areas of research and information the Center should pursue, please feel free to contact us anytime.

Best regards,

Harrison M. Pittman

Center Director

Agricultural Law Bibliography

3rd Quarter 2007 Update Published

The Agricultural Law Bibliography, the twenty-five year project of Drew L. Kershen, Earl Sneed Centennial Professor of Law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, is one of the most valuable components of the Center website. The Bibliography is a comprehensive, quarterly-updated, fully searchable compilation of scholarly articles and books on 48 agricultural and food law topics. The entries in the bibliography derive primarily from law journals, law reviews, and legal periodicals that publish articles, comments, notes, and developments that comprise the body of published research in agricultural and food law. The Center is honored to have been chosen to publish this incredible collection that currently has over 6800 entries. To view the latest additions to the Bibliography, click here.

Making Legal Research Faster and Easier
The 2007 Farm Bill

The Farm Bills component of the Center website contains full text, legislative history, and related resources for farm bills and commodity legislation from 1933 to 2002. In addition, a Summary and Evolution of the U.S. Farm Bills 1985-2002 looks at the Commodity and Conservation titles for those bills.

For the 2007 Farm Bill, there are relevant research articles and Congressional and USDA resources, including:

Senate Farm Bill Page

House Farm Bill Page

S. 2302 Food and Energy Security Act of 2007

H.R. 2419 Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007

USDA 2007 Farm Bill Page

The Congressional Research Service Reports section of the website offers numerous articles on the examination and evolution of the 2007 Farm Bill, most of which are updated monthly. To highlight a few:

What Is The Farm Bill?

Comparison of the House and Senate 2007 Farm Bills

The House-Passed 2007 Farm Bill at a Glance

Possible Expiration of the 2002 Farm Bill

Biofuels in the 2007 Energy and Farm Bills: A Comparison

Farm Bill Budgets and Costs: 2002 vs. 2007

Renewable Energy Policy in the 2007 Farm Bill

Conservation and the 2007 Farm Bill

Rural Development and the 2007 Farm Bill

Conservation and the 2007 Farm Bill

Forestry in the 2007 Farm Bill

Crop Insurance and Disaster Assistance: 2007 Farm Bill

Agriculture Exports and the 2007 Farm Bill

Ag Research, Education, and Extension in the 2007 Farm Bill

The Glossary of Agricultural Production, Programs, and Policy component of the website, compiled and updated by Chuck Culver, provides definitions and explanations for terms and acronyms employed throughout the documents and reports.

Former Center Director Publishes Article on China Food Law

Following his teaching visit to the Republic of China, Michael T. Roberts, renowned food law scholar and former Director of the Center, wrote Introduction to Food Law in the People's Republic of China for publication on the Center website.

At the invitation of the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) and the Michigan State University International Food Law Program, Mr. Roberts taught a two-week course on international food law in September 2007 to more than 90 students in Shanghai. The course introduced the international public-law and private-law construct for the regulation of the global food supply, compared the U.S., EU, and Asia food law systems, and assessed the response of the Chinese food regulatory system to the recent food problems in China. While in China, Mr. Roberts traveled to Beijing where he spoke on international food law issues at an international food safety and quality conference, met with numerous Chinese food officials in Beijing and Shanghai, and met with the Shanghai Bar Association, where there was expressed much interest in future interchanges on issues of food law in China. Mr. Roberts plans to return to ECUST to teach international food law in the law school as an official guest lecturer.

Outreach -- Conventions and Presentations

During this reporting period, the Director and staff research attorneys attended the 28^th Annual Agricultural Law Symposium sponsored by the American Agricultural Law Association in San Diego, California. The Conference provided an excellent update on issues, including estate planning and taxation, environmental law, international trade, biotechnology issues, farm bill, and renewable fuels.

Harrison Pittman, Center Director, presented "Role of the National Agricultural Law Center on the Practice of Agricultural Law" at the first annual meeting of the Kansas Bar Association Agricultural Law Section that was co-sponsored by the Kansas Farm Bureau Legal Foundation for Agriculture and the Kansas State University Foundation. Harrison provided a background on the Center, described its mission and focus areas, and discussed with the audience the ways in which the Center assists agricultural law practitioners.

Director Pittman also presented "Agritourism and American Farmers" as part of the two-day symposium organized by the Drake University Agricultural Law Center on The Role of Law in Promoting Sustainable Farming and Rural Development: An International Perspective in Des Moines, Iowa. Harrison's presentation focused on the agritourism-related research and information activities conducted in recent years by the National Agricultural Law Center and the U.S. experience relative to agritourism.

Marne Coit, Research Fellow, presented "Legal Challenges and Opportunities in Direct Marketing" at Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference on the Changing Face of Local Food held in Durham, North Carolina. Marne's presentation focused on the legal implications of direct marketing to an audience consisting of small scale producers, academicians, nonprofit organizations, and Cooperative Extension.

Erimar von der Osten, Senior Research Fellow, presented "The Role of Forestry in Rural Development and in the Provision of Energy: A German Perspective" at a two-day workshop organized by the Drake University Agricultural Law Center on The Role of Law in Promoting Sustainable Farming and Rural Development: An International Perspective in Des Moines, Iowa. Erimar's presentation focused on the legal implications of forestry and sustainability issues, compared different perceptions with respect to the role of forests and agriculture, and gave a brief description of forestry as a science.

Recent Postings to Center Website