A federal appeals court concluded Monday that two Iowa statutes that prohibit undercover access to farms and recording of their practices are constitutional.
Reversing a district court ruling that found the laws violated the First Amendment, the 8th Circuit judges concluded the statutes are not "viewpoint-based" restrictions on speech, but instead "a permissible restriction on intentionally false speech undertaken to accomplish a legally cognizable harm.”
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig both called the decision a “victory for Iowa farmers." Governor Kim Reynolds also expressed support, saying, “No longer will people be able to gain access or employment to agricultural production facilities with the intent to cause physical injury or economic harm.”
The ruling is a loss for animal rights and food safety groups. The Animal Legal Defense Fund, one of the parties that led the suit, has previously said "the public has relied on undercover investigations to expose illegal and cruel practices on factory farms and in slaughterhouses."
WIC funding at stake in finalizing USDA budget
Anti-hunger advocates are appealing to congressional negotiators to ensure that the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program is fully funded for fiscal 2024.
Congressional leaders and the White House announced an agreement on Sunday on topline spending for FY24, but negotiators now must finalize funding details for individual departments and agencies. The deadline for finishing USDA’s spending plan is Jan. 19.
“It is simply unacceptable for members of Congress of either party to consider taking food assistance away that is proven to improve birth outcomes, the health of pregnant and postpartum recipients, and the well-being of our youngest children,” says Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Meanwhile: A group of House and Senate Democrats, including Senate Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, signed a letter to congressional leaders, appealing for full funding of WIC.
USDA moving out market promotion funds
USDA is getting a new round of foreign market promotion funding out the door, even as commodity groups apply for additional aid announced by Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The department on Monday announced $203 million in awards to 68 organizations for fiscal 2024 through the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development programs. MAP and FMD are funded out of the farm bill, which was extended in November for one year.
What’s next: The department is taking applications through Feb. 2 for $300 million in additional funding that USDA is providing through the Commodity Credit Corporation for Vilsack’s $1.2 billion Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.
USDA accepting applications for trade mission to India
USDA is planning an April trade mission to India, which USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor calls the biggest “untapped market” in the world for U.S. agriculture.
The department is accepting applications to go on the mission through Jan. 22. The mission to New Delhi will run April 22-25.
“We achieved notable tariff reductions this year on chickpeas, lentils, almonds, walnuts, apples and frozen turkey, among other products that will open market opportunities for U.S. farmers in the world’s most populous country,” Taylor says. “We’ve entered a new chapter of U.S.- India trade relations, and FAS is excited to support our food and agriculture exporters explore all that India’s market has to offer.”
Minnesota dairy accused of wage theft
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking more than $3 million from a local dairy over wage theft allegations.
The lawsuit accuses Keith Schaefer and Megan Hill, the owners of Evergreen Acres Dairy in Stearns County, of “shaving off 12 to 32 hours from each two-week pay period and depriving employees of both regular wages and overtime premiums owed.” The farm has employed “hundreds of employees over the past three years,” several of whom are unauthorized and come from the Oaxaca region of Mexico.
The lawsuit also accuses the dairy farm of “unlawfully deducting rent for substandard onsite housing that fails to see the standards of habitability under Minnesota law,” with some of the housing provided having plywood walls, unfinished electrical sockets, no onsite toilet and “severe” insect populations. Workers have also lived in garages and barns, the lawsuit said.
A call to the company's main business line resulted in a "your call did not go through" message. A phone call to Hill went unanswered, and she did not respond to a text message requesting comment.
More electric buses head to school
The Biden administration is continuing its efforts to get diesel-driven school buses off the road and replaced with electric versions. EPA is awarding an additional $1 billion in funding for clean school buses from the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted in 2021.
The latest round of funding will buy more than 2,700 new low and zero-emission buses in 280 school districts across 37 states.
The infrastructure law provided $5 billion over five years for clean school buses. “I’ve sat next to students on their very first clean school bus ride and their excitement reflects the power of good policy,” says EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
EPA clarifies use of pesticides in honeybee colonies
Responding to reports that beekeepers are using pesticides not registered to control varroa mites, EPA has issued an advisory clarifying which pesticides they can legally use.
EPA says in the past several months, it has registered two new Varroa mite control products – Varroxsan and Ex-Ox tablets that contain oxalic acid as the active ingredient. “Each product allows for easier application of oxalic acid, and in the case of Varroxsan, a slower release and longer acting application of oxalic acid in the honeybee colony” the agency said.
Philip Brasher, Jacqui Fatka and Noah Wicks contributed to this report.
