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 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
President Trump and UK Prime Minster Keir Starmer announced on Thursday morning that the two countries have agreed on a trade deal, although many of the details are yet to be finalized. The agreement, which focuses on tariff...more
On May 8, 2025, the United States and the United Kingdom announced a new “trade agreement”. The Fact Sheet issued by the White House, can be found here. The Office of the United States Trade Representative has released the...more
Gov. Shapiro Proposes Doubling Agricultural Innovation Grant Funding -Governor Josh Shapiro (D) is proposing increasing Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Innovation Grant program funding to $23 million to support new technologies...more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) March 2025 publication of its new “Chemical Contaminants Transparency Tool” spotlighted a lesser-known aspect of FDA’s regulation of pesticide residues on food: action levels....more
“Compromise” sometimes gets a bad rap. And history teaches us that there can be bad compromises. But as your resident glass-is-half-full contributor who has also been closely following debate over access to consumable hemp...more
Given the persistent water stress across the region, water recycling is emerging as a vital strategy. The Middle East's success shows how wastewater can be transformed from a liability into a valuable resource....more
At the conclusion of the 114th General Assembly, Tennessee legislators passed SB1413/HB1376, a lengthy bill overhauling the regulation of Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Products (HDCPs). The bill was controversial and while some...more
The use of microorganisms in human industry is ancient, but has increased markedly in recent years. The modern recognition of the role of microbial communities in the human body has intensified innovation in fields like...more
A recently passed Washington State House Bill permits agricultural workers to unionize under the supervision of Washington’s Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC). On April 22, 2025, the Governor signed House Bill...more
In a cautionary decision that reinforces the importance of strict compliance with solicitation instructions, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently denied in part and dismissed in part a protest challenging a...more
Gov. Shapiro Fights to Restore Funding for PA Farmers, Food Banks - Governor Josh Shapiro (D) is challenging the Trump administration’s cancellation of a program that funds Pennsylvania farmers supplying food banks, arguing...more
Reconciliation Hits a Speedbump - As of May 6, 2025, it will not be what was anticipated on Capitol Hill. Multiple committees, including the House Energy and Commerce Committee, reportedly had planned to spend this week...more
Another legislative session has come and gone in Mississippi (a limited, short special session is all but a certainty, as the Legislature passed no state budget), resulting in tweaks to the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act...more