Agricutural Law Headlines: Debts, Quarantine Breakers, and Obama Anticompetition Workshops

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

Making headlines these week in agricultural law - a produce company closes in Philadelphia with nearly half a million in debt; canker-infected trees almost make it out of a quarantined area of Florida; and Obama to focus on anticompetition activities in early 2010 workshops.

M&C of Philadelphia Closes Owing Six Figures

As of November 13, M&C had 6 pending Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act complaints for its nearly half a million owed to growers, shippers and distributors after closing its doors on November 2nd. The complaints are still in their very early stages, but the proprietors show little sign of cooperation - although they did agree to allow suppliers’ lawyers to review the books and figure out what happened.

Canker-Infected Orange Trees Make For the Fence

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services arrested two nursery owners after they transported more than 500 canker-infected orange trees outside of a quarantined area. They are charged with knowingly trying to sell infected plants. Mike Sparks, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual said “With our certified nurseries and certified stock, we have a very aggressive statutory-mandated compliance procedure. It is a direct violation of existing rules and protocols. When we get a USDA or state fresh fruit rule, how do we justify the protocols with our brothers in California and Texas? You just can’t let such incidents like this one happen.”

Obama Focusing on Anticompetition in Agriculture

The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have announced a series of workshops scheduled to begin in early 2010 regarding the mechanics of competition in agricultural markets, including buyer power and vertical integration. Some workshops are expected to be in Washington DC, with others in areas closer to where production begins.

Tags: anticompetition, antitrust, canker, debt, Obama, produce, quarantine
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