On April 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that property owners could pursue their inverse condemnation claims against the State of Texas under the federal Takings Clause through the existing Texas state law. Many people understand the government has
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No Deference to the Agency? Environmental Appeals in Indiana have Changed.
Indiana House Enrolled Act 1003 changes the way we litigate administrative appeals. This will impact confined feeding challenges, permit modification appeals, and other regulatory decisions by our the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).
Lady Justice considering an administrative appeal
Who is a "Foreign Person" in the Eyes of USDA?
Midwestern politicians are drumming up support for increased oversight of foreign ownership of US agricultural farmland. At the state and federal level, there are bills seeking to reduce or increase reporting obligations for foreign ownership of farmland. Arkansas even went
Using Ag Data to Win Your Case
Farm Journal’s recent article featured one of our long-fought cases against the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for crop damage (Damned by Data: State Destroys Farmer’s Yield, Pays $810,000 in Damages). As explained in the article, our
AI, the Black Box, and Transparency
Artificial intelligence (AI) use is on the rise in agriculture and elsewhere, thanks to generative AI platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. AI is often described as a Black Box, where data is fed into the box and decisions are made, without
2024: Water Problems in the Heartland
In the Midwest, we’ve historically had more than enough water for everyone. Agricultural, industrial, and residential uses have all developed more or less peacefully (at least in terms of access to water). This usually meant a laissez-faire approach to state
Translating AI's Legal Issues for Agriculture
I was fortunate to be asked to testify before the US Senate Agricultural Committee recently about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on agriculture. Although AI and its simpler cousin machine learning (ML) have operated behind the scenes for years
Should Rural Landowners be Worried about PFAS?
The headlines about PFAS are everywhere from agricultural news websites to Good Morning America. But what should farmers and rural landowners be worried about when it comes to PFAS? From a real property standpoint, the biggest potential PFAS problem facing
Five Questions to Ask Before Signing a Soil Carbon Contract
There has been a lot of talk about soil carbon farming in the last few years. The USDA describes “soil carbon farming” as “the use of specific on-farm practices designed to take carbon out of the air and
Indiana Agriculture in Laos
Before this spring, I had never been to Asia. In April, my Agricultural Leadership Program (ALP) Class 18 traveled to South Korea and Laos. The two countries cannot be more different. Laos is very much still developing, suffers even today