Monthly Archives: November 2017

Parties Settle Red River Dispute

In November, a settlement was reached in an ongoing dispute between the federal Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and Texas landowners who own land along the Red River, which separates Texas and Oklahoma.  Under the settlement, the parties agree on how the southern boundary of the Red River is to be determined going forward–based on the gradient boundary line, but the current gradient boundary was not specifically identified.   Factual Background This case involves a heated dispute between the BLM and Texas landowners with property along the Red… Read More →

November 24, 2017 Weekly Round Up

Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  Here are some ag law stories in the news this week that might be good fodder for discussions with the visiting relatives (or not.) *EPA proposes 2-year delay of 2015 WOTUS rule.  The EPA and Corps of Engineers have proposed a rule that would delay implementation of the 2015 WOTUS rule for two years.  Currently, the 2015 rule is stayed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the EPA is currently working through the required process… Read More →

Dicamba Update (Part II)

If you missed Part I in this series, click here. Lawsuits Begin Rolling In A number of lawsuits have been filed across the country related to these issues.  Several cases involve claims by farmers against Monsanto, BASF, and/or DuPont alleging that Monsanto violated the law by releasing their genetically modified seeds without an accompanying herbicide and that the companies should have reasonably foreseen that seed purchasers would illegally apply off-label, older dicamba formulations, resulting in drift damage.  Others claim that the new herbicide products are unreasonably dangerous and… Read More →

November 17, 2017 Weekly Round Up

We’ve made it to another Friday!  I want to welcome those of you who attended the Five States Beef Conference in Perryton, Texas last week and are joining us from that presentation. Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. *Deadline to begin reporting agricultural emissions extended by EPA awaiting court mandate.  You may remember from this prior blog post that in April, a federal court held that federal regulations exempting agricultural operations from reporting emissions of hazardous substances under two federal environmental… Read More →

Dicamba Update (Part I)

Dicamba will likely go down as the biggest agricultural issue in 2017.  This post will discuss some background information and then address several recent developments regarding the herbicide dicamba. Background The herbicide dicamba has been in use since the 1960’s.  In 2012, it was the 5th most used herbicide worldwide.  The chemical, marketed under names including Clarity and Banvel, kills broadleaf weeds. Things changed in the last few years when several agricultural businesses sought to alleviate concerns with weeds that had become resistant to the common herbicide glyphosate… Read More →

November 3, 2017 Weekly Round Up

Welcome to November!  I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Halloween.  Our family celebrated with a tractor and an elephant, both of whom received lots of candy!   Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. *John Deere wins trademark infringement claim.  Speaking of tractors, Deere & Co. recently won a trademark infringement case in Kentucky federal court.  Deere filed suit against FIMCO (Ag Spray Equipment), a company who manufactures and sells sprayers painted, you guessed it, green and yellow.  Deere has… Read More →