Foreign ownership, pesticides and Prop 12: National Ag Law Center attorneys to provide ag law update during Mid-South online bonus session
By Drew Viguet
National Agricultural Law Center
U of A System Division of Agriculture
May 7, 2025
Fast facts:
- NALC’s Elizabeth Rumley, Brigit Rollins will lead conference “Early Bird” session
- Presentation will recap recent legal developments in ag law and policy
- Conference registration is online
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A wave of legal developments — from foreign ownership of agricultural land to animal confinement laws and pesticide legislation — is shaping agriculture, and the Mid-South conference’s online “Early Bird” program will offer insight into these key issues.
“We’ve seen significant developments over the last couple of years, at both the state and federal level, that impact agricultural producers,” said Elizabeth Rumley, senior staff attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center, or NALC. “2024 was one of the busiest years in agricultural law in a long time, and things haven’t slowed down in 2025.”
Rumley and NALC Staff Attorney Brigit Rollins will co-present the session, “Halfway There: Mid-Year Mid-South Review of Legal Developments,” during the 12th Annual Mid-South Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference “Early Bird” online event. The presentation will be the closing session on Wednesday, May 14. The “Early Bird” offers bonus continuing legal education credit ahead of the main Mid-South conference on June 5-6 in Memphis, Tennessee. The main conference is also available to livestream.
The 2025 Mid-South conference — along with the 2025 Western Water, Agricultural, and Environmental Law Conference — is hosted by the NALC and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation, or NASDA Foundation. Attendees who register for the Mid-South by May 13 are eligible to attend the “Early Bird.”
Registration for the conference is available online at nationalaglawcenter.org/midsouth2025.
During their session, Rumley and Rollins will discuss topics including:
- Foreign ownership of agricultural land: A topic that has increased in attention in recent years, foreign ownershipis one of the most active issues at both the state and federal level. Last year, 14
states enacted a foreign ownership law or amended an existing one. There is ongoing
federal activity on the subject, and nearly three dozen states have proposed legislation
in 2025. Kentucky, Idaho and Utah have enacted or amended statutes relating to foreign ownership this year, with other states likely
to follow suit.
- Proposition 12: Otherwise known as “Prop 12,” which was passed by California voters in 2018 and bans the sale of all pork products from pigs that
were not produced according to certain confinement standards. The National Pork Producers
Council challenged Prop 12 all the way up to the Supreme Court, which upheld the law
in 2023. Senator Joni Ernst (R- Iowa) has introduceda bill intended to prevent states from passing Prop 12-type laws.
- Pesticides: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its final insecticide strategy on April 29. Similar to the final herbicide strategy released in 2024, the final insecticide strategy focuses on reducing pesticide spray drift and runoff to better protect species listed as “threatened” or “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. Meanwhile, in 2025, numerous states have introduced pesticide liability limitation bills, which are designed to protect pesticide companies in injury and product liability lawsuits.
“Our goal is to provide as much insight as possible on topics important to agricultural stakeholders in the Mid-South and beyond,” Rollins said. “We’ll dive into recent developments and what they mean for agriculture as we hit the halfway mark of 2025.”
The “Early Bird” begins at 9:30 a.m. Central with the conference keynote address, presented by Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture and NASDA President Wes Ward. Following the keynote and prior to Rumley and Rollins’ update, Peoples Company’s Dave Muth and Quinn Kendrick will discuss trends in agricultural land transactions.
For more information about the NALC, visit nationalaglawcenter.org. The NALC is also on X, Facebook and LinkedIn. Subscribe online to receive NALC Communications, including webinar announcements, the NALC’s Quarterly Newsletter, and The Feed, which highlights recent developments in agricultural law and policy.
About the National Agricultural Law Center
Created by Congress in 1987, the National Agricultural Law Center serves as the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. The NALC works with producers, agribusinesses, state and federal policymakers, lenders, Congressional staffers, attorneys, land grant universities, students, and many others to provide objective, nonpartisan agricultural and food law research and information to the nation’s agricultural community.
The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural Library.
About the NASDA Foundation
The NASDA Foundation is the only educational and research organization that directly serves the nation’s state departments of agriculture. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The mission of the NASDA Foundation is to advance agriculture to shape a changing world.
For more information on the NASDA Foundation, visit nasda.org/nasda-foundation. The NASDA Foundation is also on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media contact:
Drew Viguet
Communications & Special Projects Coordinator
National Agricultural Law Center
dviguet@uark.edu