FNS Seeks Comments on Proposed Rule Establishing Stronger Requirements for Local School Wellness Policies; Rule Also Proposes to Limit Marketing of Foods in Schools
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Important Dates for FY 2015 House and Senate Appropriations Committees Announced
Even though the President has yet to submit his FY 2015 Budget Proposal, including his detailed requests for all agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have announced important dates for the submission of public statements to the Committees. These statements will become
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Farm Bill Redefines Dairy and Trade Activities
By Nathan Fretz On February 7, the President signed the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the “Farm Bill”) into law. Over a series of blog posts, we will focus on various provisions within the Farm Bill, with a particular focus on some of the provisions that may not have received the level of media attention as
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The 2014 Farm Bill: The Challenge for Farm Producers
The 2014 Farm Bill creates a new environment for American agriculture far more friendly to producers who are experienced and comfortable using USDA’s Federal crop insurance program under the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). Not only did Congress repeal many of the older crop programs administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, including Direct Payments, Countercyclical
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Take Out the Trash Day, State-Legal Marijuana, and Banks
In related announcements by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions, new guidance was issued that “should enhance the availability of financial services for, and the financial transparency of, marijuana-related businesses.” FIN-2014-G001, “BSA Expectations Regarding Marijuana-Related Businesses.” The announcements
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I Filed My Comment on FDA’s Proposed FSMA Regulations – Now What Do I Do?
The comment periods for many of FDA’s proposed regulations implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) have closed or are soon slated to end. Hundreds of companies and trade associations have filed comments with the agency; some believe that is the end of the public participation process. Nothing could be further from reality. Filing a
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Hidden Gems in the Farm Bill
By Nathan Fretz After three years of work, Congress passed the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the “farm bill”), which the President signed into law on Friday, February 7. Despite a tumultuous and partisan 2012 and summer of 2013, the farm bill conference report was approved by conferees and sailed through the House and Senate with
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Washington Post Recognizes OFW Law’s FDA Regulatory Practice
Today, the Washington Post recognized OFW Law for being a leader in U.S. Food and Drug Administration law, and food safety regulatory matters. We are proud of the role we have played in advancing public health through the development of food safety statutes and regulations. As a result of our involvement, we are intimately familiar
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Former Minority Counsel to House Ag Committee, Nathan Fretz, Joins OFW Law
We are pleased to announce that Nathaniel “Nathan” Fretz, Esq., formerly with the House Agriculture Committee staff, will be joining OFW in the practice of law. Fretz, who will join our Government Relations Practice, also served in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Please click the announcement, below, to enlarge it.
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John Block: U.S. Corn and China’s Bad Faith Collide
By John R. Block, as published in the Des Moines Register As complex as the world trading system has become, it still fundamentally relies on something as simple as trust — that nations and people will be as good as their word. Most basically, it requires that those who enter into mutually agreed upon contracts will
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Wheat: The Staff of Life
By Marshall L. Matz with Molly O’Connor, as published in Agri-Pulse When the subject of agriculture comes up, the focus usually starts with corn. It is the price of corn or the genetic modification of corn, ethanol (food vs. fuel), trade or the regulatory process here in the United States and its synchronization with other countries. Just last
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Happy New Year? Farm Bill Blues
By Marshall L. Matz, as published by Agri-Pulse A few weeks ago Vice President Biden presented the George McGovern Award to Bob Dole for his effort in the fight against global hunger. The ceremony was sponsored by the World Food Program and held in the Senate Caucus Room. It was a wonderful and too rare evening
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OSHA Games the System to Target Small Farmers
There is frequent tension between the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law. Obeying the “spirit of the law” means following the intent of those who drafted it. Following the “letter of the law” means following the law as written – verbatim. Oftentimes, there is daylight between the two. Using vagaries to beat the system is one
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CPSC Proposes to Make Voluntary Recalls and Compliance Programs Legally Binding
On November 13, 2013, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a proposed interpretive rule concerning corrective action plans for “voluntary” recalls that may impact future voluntary consumer product recalls in two significant ways. First, CPSC proposes to make voluntary recall agreements that companies negotiate with CPSC legally binding. Second, CPSC proposes to permit
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OFW Law’s MMXIII in Retrospect
As MMXIV starts, it’s time for a retrospective look at MMXIII. What follows is a list of noteworthy events from MMXIII in our food, drug, medical device, and agriculture corner of the universe, focusing on matters that were of particular interest to OFW Law’s attorneys and Senior Policy Advisors and our clients. We start, of
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John Block: Our Water Transportation
Happy New Year. I threw away my 2013 calendar and hung up the new one. There is a lot to get done in the new year. But, today I want to talk about one specific project. We need to modernize our water transportation system. Our locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi are old and
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10 Ag-Related Items to Watch in 2014
By John G. Dillard, as published on his AgWeb.com Blog – Ag in the Courtroom With 2013 nearly in the books and the holiday season nearly behind us, its time to prepare for the challenges that face us in the coming year. While I am no expert on forecasting long-range weather patterns, commodity market fluctuations, or predicting the
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U.S. Farm Income
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report from earlier in the month revealed that national net farm income—a key indicator of U.S. farm well-being—is forecast at a record $131 billion in 2013, up 15% from last year, and about $13 billion above 2011’s previous record. In addition to record net farm income, farm wealth is also at record levels.
John Block: What’s In The Farm Bill?
The obvious issues in the farm bill are nutrition programs, crop insurance, and farm safety net supports. However, there are some important sections in the bill that could be almost as important that don’t get much attention. The first one deals with trade. Trade accounts for 25 percent of U.S. farm receipts. When we plant
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John Block: Free Trade With Europe
We should get a farm bill in January. It appears that we now have a budget. That helps because now the Ag Department will know how much money the Department has to spend. Let’s keep the pressure on to get it done. The subject that I want to focus on today has not had enough
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The Budget Agreement and Some Thoughts About Next Steps
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-WA) announced a two-year budget agreement that, in their words, “reduces the deficit—without raising taxes…it cuts spending in a smarter way…prevent(s) another government shutdown and roll(s) back sequestration’s cuts to defense and domestic investments in a balanced way.” While this budget
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Missouri AG Plans to Sue California Over Egg Import Restrictions
Missouri’s Attorney General, Chris Koster, used the Missouri Farm Bureau’s annual meeting to announce that he intends to sue the State of California to overturn a law that will limit most commercially-produced eggs from entering the state. Such a lawsuit was only a matter of time as many of the country’s egg producers are forced to either
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John Block: Cabinet Meetings
We all know that Republicans and Democrats are at each others’ throats and we can’t seem to get anything done. It also appears that President Obama has not demonstrated the kind of leadership to move things along. No one wants to take responsibility. Sometimes, “the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.”
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A SNAP It’s Not
By Marshall L. Matz with Molly O’Connor, as published by Agri-Pulse The food stamp program, currently called SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) has exploded in size and may now be the biggest hurdle to a farm bill. As of August, some 48 million Americans participated in the program at a cost of almost $80 billion a year.
John Block: Farm Bill Conflict
We don’t have a budget yet. We don’t have a farm bill. House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) hopes to have a draft bill by week’s end. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Senate Ag Committee Chair, acknowledges there are a lot of differences to be worked out, but she has hope. They are both hoping. The
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Achievement Unlocked! Senate Passes Drug Quality and Security Act for a Safer, More Secure Pharmaceutical Supply Chain
In a time when internecine conflicts within the Congress and between the legislative and executive branch stymie so much important work, the easy passage of the bipartisan Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA) (H.R. 3204) is cause for celebration. Having passed the House of Representatives in September on a voice vote, the Senate overwhelmingly voted
Former Secretary Block Comments on Farm Bill
Will we get a farm bill or won’t we get a farm bill? No one knows at this point. There are still a number of unanswered questions. The biggest fight is over how much to cut the spending on food stamps. We have 50 million people receiving food stamps now and growing. House Republicans want
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The Vatican Enters a GMO “Palaver,” Supports Use of Biotechnology
By Marshall L. Matz with Peter Matz, as published by Agri-Pulse “Palaver” is a wonderful word used in Africa to mean a patient and thorough exploration of a major problem. It is a process that brings together all stakeholders to respectfully examine all facets of a complex issue. When Ambassador Ken Quinn selected the theme of “The
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Bienvenue Aux Etats-Unis!
With so many of our respected friends and colleagues furloughed, federal agency budgets decimated, or wholly dependent on user fees to operate, and so much important business on hold due to the intransigent federal budget showdown, it’s not surprising that the States have stepped up to fill the vacuum. One example is the State of
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Universities Salute World Food Prize Commitment to Sound Science & Biotechnology
As I mentioned last week, a major coalition of farm, food and anti-hunger organizations joined 30 institutions of higher education in praising the World Food Prize Foundation for shining a spotlight on agricultural biotechnology with this year’s World Food Prize theme, “The Next Borlaug Century: Biotechnology, Sustainability and Climate Volatility.” This morning, three Universities followed up
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Major Coalition, including Academia, Commends World Food Prize for Supporting Biotechnology
A very broad coalition of 100 food and agriculture organizations, including 30 research universities and anti-hunger organizations, have sent a letter to World Food Prize Foundation in Iowa commending them for a focus on biotechnology this year. The letter says, in part, “Feeding a world population of nine billion people by 2050 in the face