Every food or agriculture company that gets serious about Washington eventually faces the same choice: hire a lobbying firm, or hire a government relations attorney. The two are often marketed as interchangeable, and in a Farm Bill reauthorization cycle or a fast-moving USDA rulemaking, the pressure to just pick someone and start advocating is real.
Your regulatory affairs team fields FDA warning letters and USDA inspection findings as a matter of routine, often through the firm’s broader agriculture and agribusiness practice. Legislative advocacy testimony is a different discipline entirely, and food and agriculture companies that treat it like a communications exercise usually leave the committee record weaker than when they
How to Prepare Legislative Testimony for Congressional Committees Read More »
Washington, D.C., October 19, 2026 – OFW Law is pleased to announce Molly O’Connor will return to Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz’s (OFW Law) Government Relations Practice as a Senior Policy Advisor. O’Connor previously served clients with excellence at OFW Law before leading the international trade policy portfolio and PAC at Crop Life America, and
OFW Law Welcomes the Return of Seasoned Lobbyist to Government Relations Practice Read More »
In August 2025, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force expanded UFLPA high-priority sectors to include agricultural products alongside caustic soda, copper, lithium, and steel. For food and agriculture companies, that single line in a federal notice is a reminder that agricultural trade policy is no longer background noise for the general counsel’s inbox. It is
Agricultural Trade Policy Advocacy: Where Government Relations Meets Trade Law Read More »
Meat and poultry companies usually call legal counsel when FSIS has already acted. A Notice of Intended Enforcement lands. A HACCP verification issue triggers a same-day response. A labeling question turns into a hold, a recall discussion, or a noncompliance record. What I see less often is a government relations lawyer at the table while
Meat and Poultry Government Relations Lawyer: FSIS, Congress, and USDA Policy Read More »
The Food Safety Modernization Act moved through Congress after years of pressure from outbreaks, committee work, consumer groups, food companies, and trade associations. FDA did not write a new food safety statute on its own. Congress did, and the record that made FSMA passable was built long before President Obama signed it on January 4,
Food Safety Legislation and Government Advocacy: How Industry Shapes Federal Policy Read More »
Animal health policy gets harder to manage when a company treats USDA as one regulator with one set of tools. I would not advise a client to do that. APHIS and FSIS share a cabinet department; after that, the similarities fade quickly. For livestock, poultry, and veterinary product companies, that split often decides whether a
A corporate PAC is a separate segregated fund carrying its own FEC obligations. Registration, the restricted class, solicitation language, filing deadlines, and the compliance failures that recur across food and agriculture programs.
Coalition building is the government affairs capability food and agriculture companies most consistently underinvest in. The two coalition types, a seven step build process, and the governance and antitrust rules that hold an alliance together.
Coalition Building in Food and Agriculture Government Affairs: A Practical Guide Read More »
Crop insurance doesn’t sit still while everyone waits on the next Farm Bill. Every year, appropriators decide how much room the federal crop insurance program has for RMA staffing, product review, report language, and operating instructions from Congress. If your company watches only the Farm Bill, you miss the annual decisions that shape how crop
Federal food procurement runs through USDA commodity purchases, Department of Defense contracts, and school nutrition programs. What each program buys, how suppliers qualify, and which FAR rules apply once a contract is awarded.
Regulatory intelligence is the systematic monitoring that flags a federal rule 12 to 36 months before it is proposed. Where the early signals appear, which sources to track, and what to do when a threat surfaces.
Every five years, Congress rewrites the rules that govern federal nutrition programs, and the food industry rarely gets a seat at the table until the drafting is nearly finished. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), school meal programs, and the Emergency Food Assistance Program
Congressional oversight of the food industry has intensified. Whether the trigger is a high-profile recall, a food safety outbreak, a supply chain failure, or a policy dispute with a federal agency, food companies increasingly face committee inquiries, document requests, and formal hearing summons. Your regulatory affairs team knows how to manage FDA inspections and USDA
Your company engages with federal policymakers, employs government relations professionals, and operates what appears to be a standard advocacy program. Yet one inadvertent lobbying disclosure error, unregistered foreign agent activity, or gift rule violation triggers investigations that expose your organization to civil penalties, criminal prosecution, and permanent reputational damage. I know this because government affairs
Government Affairs Compliance Risks: LDA, FARA & Gift Rule Violations Read More »
The following was published in Agri-Pulse on March 20, 2025. Within the backdrop of Congressional budget reconciliation, there will be no easy decisions for an eventual savings target imposed on the Ag Committees to hit (a target they didn’t ask to receive). When considering how they’ll hit their required cost-cutting number, among the range of
A SNAP Cost-share Would Cost States Double Read More »
The food, agriculture, and trade sectors are aware the Trump Administration could bring myriad policy changes that could have a significant impact on business. OFW Law provides an initial outlook at the new administration’s approach to food, agriculture, and trade, which will be influenced by individual cabinet and other executive branch appointments who will help
Food, Ag, & Trade Outlook in the Incoming Trump Administration Read More »
Washington, DC, July 24, 2024 – OFW is pleased to announce Eric Steiner has joined Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz’s (OFW) Government Relations team as a Senior Policy Advisor. Steiner has previously led in-house government relations work at Kraft Foods, Elanco Animal Health, and on behalf of industry groups, including the National Association of Wheat
OFW Adds Seasoned Advocate to Government Relations Practice Read More »
As generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems become increasingly powerful and widespread, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is beginning to evaluate the legal implications for intellectual property rights and protection. On March 27th, the USPTO and the U.S. Copyright Office jointly held a public symposium to explore the emerging challenges AI presents across
On January 12th, 2024, during an interview with Agri-Pulse (found here), OFW’s own Roger Szemraj discussed farm policy dynamics on Capitol Hill and what he’s watching in the weeks ahead. Szemraj noted that the spending figures agreed to for the FY 2024 Appropriations bills were largely in line with Fiscal Responsibility Act, but allocation across individual
OFW’s Szemraj Discusses Farm Policy Dynamics Read More »
On June 21, 2023, USDA issued Grants of Inspection (GOI) to two companies that intend to manufacture cell-cultured chicken products, Upside Foods and Good Meat Company (as well as a Good Meat co-packer, Joinn Biologics). Along with the GOI, FSIS released FSIS Directive 7800.1, “FSIS Responsibilities in Establishments Producing Cell-Cultured Meat and Poultry Food Products,”
June Food and Agriculture Regulatory Recap Read More »
On Friday, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its first draft guidance on the conduct of clinical trials for psychedelic drugs. The Draft Guidance for Industry, Psychedelic Drugs: Considerations for Clinical Investigations, if finalized, will guide researchers investigating psychedelics as potential treatments for medical conditions. There has been significant media, marketing, and legislative interest
FDA Issues First Draft Guidance on Clinical Trials with Psychedelic Drugs Read More »
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will include ‘Hemp’ in the title of one of the six Agricultural Technical Advisory Committees (ATACs) – noting a significant evolution in both agriculture and cannabis policy. Specifically, ‘Hemp’ has now earned a place within the ATAC titled ‘Tobacco, Cotton, Peanuts, and Hemp.’ The ATACs were established under
Hemp Now Included in Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) Read More »
OFW Law’s Ken Ackerman was featured in an Agri-Pulse article discussing the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA). In the article, “While Foreign Purchases of US Land Surge, USDA’s Reporting Penalties Plunge,” Mr. Ackerman discussed his experience in representing clients on AFIDA matters. AFIDA is a law administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). Under
OFW Law’s Ackerman Discusses AFIDA in Agri-Pulse Read More »
On November 1, 2022, the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Janet Woodcock had a virtual meeting on “Regulatory Pathways for Hemp Products, including Cannabidiol (CBD)” with representatives of the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the Secretary and the Executive Office of the President. This meeting was announced
FDA’s Woodcock Holds Meeting on Regulatory Pathways for Hemp and CBD Read More »
At the end of September, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hired cannabis policy expert Norman Birenbaum as a Senior Public Health Advisor at FDA’s Center for Regulatory Programs. Mr. Birenbaum comes to FDA with a deep background in regulation in several state cannabis departments. Most recently, in New York State he served
Today, September 21, 2022, at the United Nations General Assembly, President Biden announced $2.9 billion in assistance to address global food insecurity and urged other countries to follow suit. President Biden stressed: “If parents cannot feed their children, nothing else matters.” This announcement comes as the Biden administration is taking serious steps to combat the
Food Security a Priority at UN Read More »
On July 26, 2022, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Terrorism held a hearing on “Decriminalizing Cannabis at the Federal Level: Necessary Steps to Address Past Harms.” The hearing largely addressed the recently introduced S. 4591, “Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act” (the “CAOA”). The witnesses included: Malik Burnett, Medical Director, Maryland Department
On May 18, 2022, the White House Office of Public Engagement held its first biweekly stakeholder call providing updates on the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health planned for September 2022. The purpose of the session was to provide preliminary information about upcoming virtual regional public listening sessions to hear ideas and learn
White House Updates Plans for Nutrition Conference Read More »
The White House announced the long-awaited White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, to be held in Washington this September, with the specific date yet to be announced. As the White House announcement said: “The Biden-Harris Administration has set a goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity in the U.S. by 2030
White House Announces Nutrition Conference Read More »
On February 23, 2022, the Administration published in the Federal Register a Notice of “Continuation of the National Emergency Concerning Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic” to extend the national emergency declaration from March 13, 2020. The 2020 Declaration was due to expire on March 1, 2022 and, with this Administrative Order, the national emergency continues,
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an online reporting portal, located at USDA’s Farmer Fairness website, to advance the goals of the “Biden-Harris Administration’s Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain” (the Action Plan). By way of review, On
On December 23th, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) targeting impersonation scams. Impersonation scams generally involve the scammer impersonating a trusted source to convince targets to send money or personal information. These scammers often pretend to be a part of government or well-known businesses. To add legitimacy,
FTC Proposes Rulemaking to Limit Impersonation Scams Read More »
It was Senator George McGovern, D-S.D., who brought me from South Dakota in 1973 to serve as Counsel to the Select Committee on Nutrition but I wound up serving both Senator McGovern and Senator Bob Dole, R-Kan., on food, agriculture, and nutrition. (I suspect that could not happen today.) Bob Dole was Chair of the
Opinion: My Bob Dole Read More »
On December 2, 2021, the Israeli Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Oded Forer concluded a three-day trip to Washington D.C. to strengthen Israel’s strategic partnership with the U.S. and other regional partners on agricultural issues. This trip included meetings with Senators, the USDA Deputy Secretary Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, and senior executives at the World
Israeli Minister for Agriculture Forer discusses Israeli-US Partnerships in U.S. Visit Read More »
