By Sarah Fielder
Missouri and Arkansas Move to Ban Dicamba Use Due to a growing number of drift complaints, Missouri has joined Arkansas in effectively banning the use of dicambas in those states till after the 2017 growing season. Arkansas has raised the cap on fines for violators spraying dicambas, previously fines had been $1,000 per violation but are now capped at $25,000 per incident. To see what this means to growers in those states, click here http://bit.ly/2v5OV4s.
Property Ownership Fact Sheet Now Available How property is owned can impact a farm succession plan and an estate plan. To aid property owners in understanding the various ways property can be owned, a new UME fact sheet is now available. The fact sheet, Property Ownership and Transferring Are Important Features of Your Farm Succession Plan by Paul Goeringer (UME FS-1056) is available at https://go.umd.edu/PropOwnership.
Utah Ag-Gag Law Found Unconstitutional A federal judge in Utah found last week that the state’s ag-gag law is unconstitutional. The judge agreed with challenges that the law violated the First Amendment’s right to free speech. This marks the second time that a state’s ag-gag law has been found unconstitutional. In 2015, Idaho’s was found to violate the Free Speech and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Idaho is currently appealing the ruling with the 9th Circuit and Utah may seek appeal as well. To read more on this decision, click here http://n.pr/2uKIiVW.
States Seek to Intervene in Lawsuit With EPA Over Chlorpyrifos Decision Four states, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington, and Washington D.C. have sought to intervene in on-going litigation involving EPA’s decision not to limit the use of chlorpyrifos. The states and D.C. claim that EPA violated federal law by not banning chlorpyrifos in light of recent evidence of its impact on children. To read more about the lawsuit, click here http://bit.ly/2u1YYKN.