BW INSIGHTS

Summary of 8th Circuit Opinion in Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Reynolds

The United States Court of Appeals recently ruled on the constitutionality of Iowa’s ag gag law, providing clarity on whether the scope of 2019 amendments to the law are unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Iowa’s ag gag laws prohibit (1) accessing an agricultural production facility by false pretenses and (2) making a false statement or... Read More

Proposed Legislation Could Provide Additional Relief to Small Farmers

Last week, U.S. Representatives Abby Finkenauer (D-IA) and Dan Bishop (R-NC) introduced bipartisan legislation that would permit farmers to use money from loans acquired through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to pay for rentals of equipment, land, and buildings. The proposed bill is titled the Expanding Assistance to Farmers Act of 2020... Read More

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program – CFAP

The United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) announced very high-level details regarding the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (“CFAP”) on April 17, 2020. The CFAP is designed to provide money directly to crop and livestock producers to solidify the food chain during COVID-19. Finally, one month after the initial release, the USDA has... Read More

One Step Closer to Hemp Production in Iowa

Today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its interim final rule for nationwide legal hemp production. This is an important step toward hemp production in Iowa. Hemp production took a hiatus in the U.S. when, in the 1970s, it was classified as controlled substance. That all changed in the 2018 Farm Bill which legalized... Read More