Cannabis Law Now Podcast - From Law Firm to Board Room: The Journey of a Cannabis Entrepreneur
Tariffs and Trade Series: Effects on Agriculture Operations and Markets
First 60 Days of the Trump Administration: Food and Agriculture Policy
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: Cannabis and Hemp Federal and State Advocacy in 2025
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: New York Cannabis: Ups, Downs, and In Between
4 Key Takeaways | AI in Precision Agriculture Legal Risks and Mitigation
AGG Talks: Cross-Border Business Podcast - Episode 23: Shaping Georgia’s Energy Landscape: Insights From Commissioner Tim Echols
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: Local Government and Cannabis Enforcement — What Matters and Why
12 Days of Regulatory Insights: Day 9 - Trends in the Tobacco Industry — Regulatory Oversight Podcast
Insights on the Trump Administration's Agriculture and Food Policy Priorities
Florida Medical Cannabis Business Licensing Process: What Happens Next for MMTC Applicants?
Bringing Your Cannabis Brand to New York
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: Building a Lasting Cannabis Brand with Tiffany Chin from Death Row Cannabis
Podcast - 2024 Election Impacts on Food and Agriculture Policy
Cannabis & Psychedelics On the 2024 Ballot
GLP-1 Drugs and Cultivated Meat: What’s the Impact on the Food and Agriculture Industry?
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: 2024 Cannabis Industry Pitfalls on Blast
Mitigating and Addressing Litigation Risks for Cannabis Businesses
Florida’s Equine Landscape
Cannabis M&A: Pain Points and Opportunities
On 8 May 2025, US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer announced an agreement on General Terms of the Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) between the United States and the United Kingdom. Although not a...more
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we have an update on the Nebraska situation. We hear that the administration’s nominee for DEA head won’t...more
The evolving regulatory landscape for marijuana-related businesses poses unique compliance challenges for firms in the securities industry. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) continues to enforce its 2014...more
Lately, elected representatives on both sides of the aisle have been displaying an appetite for expanding transferable tax credits to a broader variety of industries. This is evidenced by the recent profusion of proposed...more
Act 1009 was signed by Governor Sanders which amends the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act to require revocation of a permit for the disposal of industrial waste in an agricultural or pastoral application for a...more
Earlier this month, President Trump tapped “physician-turned wellness influencer” Casey Means as his nominee for surgeon general. Means has close ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Trump...more
Private equity investment in the food and beverage industry continues to steadily increase, driven in part by evolving consumer preferences and a heightened focus on sustainability. In 2024, private equity deal activity in...more
TSCA/FIFRA/TRI - EPA Receives TSCA Section 21 Petitions Seeking Reconsideration Of Exemption Conditions In Final Trichloroethylene Rule: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently updated its website to include...more
FDA approves three color additives derived from natural sources. In order to “expand the palette of available colors from natural sources for manufacturers to safely use in food,” the FDA announced on May 9 that it has...more
Washington state has joined the growing list of states addressing the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals,” in biosolids that are widely used in farming. With Governor...more
This week, Georgia's governor signed a new pesticide labeling and liability act (SB 144) ("Act"), amending state law to limit the scope of pesticide manufacturer liability for failure to warn and aligning the state standards...more
On May 9, 2025, the White House issued an Executive Order, “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations,” that seeks to place limits on the criminal enforcement of regulatory offenses, particularly those that impose...more
Food Venture Financing Trends - Danone plans to acquire a majority stake in Kate Farms, a plant-based nutrition shake brand....more
On September 25, 2024, USDA’s Acting Deputy Administrator of Farm Programs issued a Notice to all Farm Service Agency (FSA) State and County Offices, directing them to cease processing and/or approving offers of enrollment or...more
On April 11, 2025, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals issued an opinion in Rayonier Forest Resources, LP v. Hudson, CL-2025-0003, in which it clarified Alabama law on how timberland owners and management companies can...more
The United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry held a May 13th hearing titled: Perspectives from the Field, Part 4: Conservation (“Hearing”). United States Senator John Boozman (Arkansas)...more
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, Wisconsin’s legislature says no to the Governor’s cannabis proposal. Pennsylvania’s Senate says no to the...more
On March 28, and, in some areas, lasting through March 30, the 2025 Northern Michigan Ice Storm that hit northern Michigan caused substantial damage. By declaring a state of emergency, Governor Gretchen Whitmer made available...more
It’s been a tough couple of months in the henhouse. My domesticated fowl friends and I are in a foul mood. (We’ll use “them” here, albeit I think I have a pretty good idea of how to distinguish the hims from the hers, but...more
The new US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal (“EPD”), announced last week (8 May 2025), is promising to bring back economic stability and will be welcomed by businesses at a time of increased geopolitical uncertainty....more
Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a broad request for information (RFI) seeking input on how to “dramatically deregulate across all areas the Department touches.”1 It specifically...more
In a significant development for farmers and the agricultural industry, amendments made last year to the Canadian Copyright Act have introduced new exemptions related to the right to repair and digital interoperability. These...more
At Ward and Smith, we are closely monitoring these developments to help our clients with the potential impacts on their businesses. Below is an overview of what stakeholders in the hemp industry need to know about this...more
In the past decade, the connection between food production, particularly agriculture, and carbon emissions has led to a surge in sustainable food production practices. One industry has made headlines recently: cell-cultivated...more
The United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to ease the trade tension between the two countries by deciding to implement a few sectoral measures related to automotive, agriculture and overall access to each other’s...more