Sustainable Growth in Agroforestry

Grace Huddleston is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. Agroforestry has the power to reinforce climate resilient landscaping, improve water quality, and provide economic stimulation for farmers. Agroforestry initiatives may also soon receive a significant expansion thanks to H.R. 8467 §8301, the current House draft of the 2024 Farm…

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Something Fishy in the Farm Bill?

Katie Kraska is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. Aquaculture is making waves in conversations about the future of farming. The industry now surpasses global production from wild caught fisheries, sparking domestic debate as lawmakers work to reauthorize the farm bill. Encompassing any propagation, breeding, rearing, and harvesting of…

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The Long-Term Tradeoffs of H.R.8467’s Proposed Farm Bill Nutrition Title

Isabel Yin is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act (H.R. 8467)—the House’s version of the new farm bill—has been met with mixed public opinion since its introduction on May 21, 2024. For supporters, H.R. 8467 is “must-pass” legislation to prevent economic instability that…

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From 2018 to 2024: Changes in Hemp Provisions in the Farm Bill

Josie Dudzik is a PhD candidate in Nutrition and Dietetics at New York University and is a guest contributor to this blog.  She was an intern in the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic during the summer of 2024. Background The 2018 Farm Bill paved the way for domestic hemp production by reclassifying hemp as legal to grow…

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Understanding the Commodity Credit Corporation and the Market Facilitation Program in American Agriculture

Nick Blumenthal was an intern in the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic during the summer of 2024. In 2018, American agriculture found itself at the epicenter of a geopolitical storm. An escalating trade war between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, led to a barrage of tariffs that hit farmers particularly hard. From…

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Opportunities and Challenges to Improve Unfair and Deceptive Practices in the Poultry Industry

Denae Romero is a law student at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and is a guest contributor to this blog.  She was an intern in the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic during the summer of 2024. Passed over 100 years ago, the Packers and Stockyards Act (codified at 7 U.S.C. §§ 181-229) aims…

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Crop Insurance and the Farm Bill in a Nutshell

John Hershey is a law student at Widener Law Commonwealth and a guest contributor to this blog. Crop insurance programs continue to be a sticking point in Farm Bill negotiations. Farmers pay federally subsidized premiums to obtain crop insurance coverage from private insurers. Crop insurance protects revenues when prices fall or natural causes such as drought or flood reduce harvests….

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Tackling CAFO Regulations in the Next Farm Bill

Orly Levy is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. Background The shift towards large-scale industrial animal farming has transformed the landscape of American farming over the past few decades. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) have out-competed smaller, family-owned farms, decreasing the number of livestock farmers in the US by…

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How the Senate Draft Stacks up to FBLE’s Recommendations

Farm bill drafts have arrived—kinda, almost. At the beginning of May, Senator Stabenow, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry Committee, released a summary and detailed Section-by-Section overview of the Senate’s proposed Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024. The House Agriculture Committee Chair GT Thompson also released a summary of their Farm Bill proposal, with full text…

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