On April 10, 2019, we blogged about Minerva Dairy’s challenge to the Wisconsin butter grading statute. On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari.  Given the strength of the dairy lobby in Wisconsin – until the mid-1960’s manufacturers of margarine were not permitted to compare its taste to butter – a legislative solution seems unlikely.…

On October 15, 2018, we blogged about Tennessee’s regulations on licensing for retail sales of alcoholic beverages. Tennessee requires residency within the state for two years in order to obtain an initial license. It requires residency for 10 consecutive years to obtain a renewal of the initial license.  But the initial license only runs for a year. The statute also requires that all officers, directors and shareholders of corporations to satisfy these residency requirements. The effect…

Wisconsin is one of the few states that ban the sale of ungraded butter and the only one that enforces the ban. The state allows for four categories of grade: AA, A, B, and Ungraded. To grade butter, an examiner must be licensed by the state or the federal government. The grade depends on each examiner’s subjective application of no less than 32 characteristics involving flavor, color, body and salt. These characteristics are further qualified…