Midwest Agricultural Law
Turning Friends into Foes: Legal Fallout from Monsanto’s Dicamba
Monsanto's dicamba has turned friendly neighbors into legal foes due to crops damaged by dicamba's inability to stay where it is supposed to be. With the soybean harvest basically complete, we are seeing more and more claims filed and litigation initiated. Farmers are calculating the effect that dicamba applied by [...]
Don’t Get Caught Holding the Bag: Hold the State Liable When General Contractor Fails to Pay on a Public Project.
According to a quick Google search the term holding the bag" comes from the mid eighteenth century and means be left with the onus of what was originally another's responsibility. Nobody wants to be left holding the bag. But that is the situation our client (subcontractor) found themselves in when [...]
Not So Fast: RMA Continues to Scrutinize New Producer Crop Status
If you have received a Notice of Overpayment and Removal of New Producer Status from your crop insurance company, you are not alone. In 2012 the Risk Management Agency started auditing crop insurance applications wherein the insured had requested "New Producer" status. The effects of the audit have come to [...]
Pulled from the Swamp: EPA Wetland Determination Now Judicially Reviewable
Landowners and developers bogged in an EPA wetland determination were recently thrown a life line when the United States Supreme Court determined The Army Corps of Engineer's (Corps) "jurisdictional determinations" (JD) regarding wetland designations are reviewable by the court. United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co. Inc. Under [...]
Pulled from the Swamp: EPA Wetland Determination Now Judicially Reviewable
Landowners and developers bogged in an EPA wetland determination were recently thrown a life line when the United States Supreme Court determined The Army Corps of Engineer's (Corps) "jurisdictional determinations" (JD) regarding wetland designations are reviewable by the court. United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co. Inc. Under [...]
North Dakota Farmer’s 4 Year Sentence for Insurance Fraud Upheld
Such is the life of a farmer. Even in times of a good crop, the potential insurance claim may be more valuable than the crop itself. That may have been the case for Aaron Johnson of Norwood, North Dakota, who in 2014 received a 4 year sentence for receiving [...]
About the Blog
The best way to gain insight into a person is to walk in their shoes. Having grown up on a farm in Iowa, attorney Sean Minahan has walked in the shoes of those in the farming industry, which is why he feels at home in the field—of agricultural law. His blog, the Midwest Agricultural Law Guide, was created to offer legal discussion and encourage the use of social media in the agricultural industry.
Sean A. Minahan
Editor and Author