Perspectives on Agricultural Technology

Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad presents the agriculture sector with opportunities to have a voice in how the Administration meets its targets to reduce and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

AgTech Industry Group Co-Leader Karen Carr will speak at the Environmental Law Institute’s “Technology & Agriculture: A New Age of Sustainability?” webinar on March 31.

Carbon-reduction claims, such as “carbon neutral” and claims about lower “carbon footprints,” are proliferating in the marketplace.

In his first day in office, President Biden sent a strong signal that changes could be in store for the pesticide industry by issuing a sweeping Executive Order directing a review of a lengthy list of Trump-era regulations, including 48 health and environmental rules.

Blockchain is one of the top technologies that can be integrated into various fields for improved security, traceability, and distribution. The agriculture industry is one area where blockchain innovation has quickly grown in the last few years.

With a “why not” approach, Thomas Vilsack wishes to build and promote a more resilient rural economy by identifying innovative opportunities in agriculture and tackling climate change while incentivizing carbon credits.

The report, issued by the FCC’s Office of Economics and Analytics, finds that broadband availability has significant positive impacts on crop yields and other farm production metrics.

Both practical and legal issues will need to be resolved, but as of today, the EEOC has signaled that mandatory COVID vaccinations are lawful for the vast majority of employees.

This updated guidance follows an earlier version EPA released for public comment in March 2019.

Arent Fox co-hosted the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources and CropLife America’s annual event on November 18.

AgTech Partner Karen Carr will be speaking twice at the 41st Annual American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) Law Education Symposium in November.

AgTech Industry Group Co-Leader Karen Carr presented to the US Wheat Associates’ (USW) and National Association of Wheat Growers’ (NAWG) joint committee on November 2.

Task Force Approves Reports Addressing Mapping, Connectivity Demand, and Connected Farm Employment

SPAC transactions present an opportunity for accelerated growth in the AgTech industry, especially in capital-intensive businesses.

Partner Karen Carr will serve as a panel speaker at the 2020 FDLI Annual Conference in October. Karen’s session is titled “Emerging Technologies: Regulatory Oversight of Intentional Genomic Alterations in Animals.”

The US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to amend its pesticide regulations to exempt from FIFRA, the federal pesticide statute, certain pesticidal substances (PIPs) created in plants using biotechnology.

Substantial funding for precision agriculture is anticipated as part of FCC 5G Fund to support next generation wireless services.

On August 21, 2020, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published an interim final rule (IFR) to implement hemp-related amendments to the Federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that were made by the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill).

Partner Don McLean was a featured panelist in an American Agricultural Law Association webinar discussing pesticide regulation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as well a major recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

AgTech Partner Karen Carr recently participated in a webinar about the US Department of Agriculture’s final rule addressing regulation of agricultural biotechnology products issued on May 15, 2020.

Arent Fox will host the Washington, DC Section of the Institute of Food Technologists’ 2020 Food Policy Impact meeting in February. Attorneys Karen Carr and Emily Leongini are scheduled to present.

On December 19, 2019, EPA granted the first approvals for the use of crop protection products—nine biopesticides and one conventional pesticide—on hemp, providing a new set of crop protection tools for hemp farmers in time for the 2020 growing season. 

The protection of intellectual property in the biotech industry is critical. Patents are the most common form of IP protection for biotech inventions.

On June 6, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA or Agency) released its proposed revision to Part 340, the regulations implementing USDA’s authority over genetically engineered (GE) organisms, including GE plants.

On May 31st, New York partner Alex Spiegler will be speaking at the 7th Annual World Life Sciences Conference.