Regulations

New worker protection rules impact farm, greenhouse workers

Owners of farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses that use pesticides in agricultural plant production will have to implement additional safeguards for their pesticide handlers and agricultural workers under a revision to the Worker Protection Standard.... more »

FDA requests comments on use of term ‘natural’ on food labeling

Because of the changing landscape of food ingredients and production, and in direct response to consumers who have requested that the FDA explore the use of the term “natural,” the agency is asking the public... more »

Trio of final FSMA rules sent for publication in Federal Register

FDA has submitted the final produce safety, foreign supplier verification and third party accreditation rules of the Food Safety Modernization Act to the Federal Register for publication, as required by the court. An additional rule,... more »

UF receives grant to spread the word on food safety standards

The University of Florida will help lead the charge in educating stakeholders on the sweeping changes being made to national food safety regulations with a $1.2 million grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and... more »

Michigan Farm Bureau sues EPA over WOTUS

Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) Oct. 26 joined the growing list of combatants targeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the implementation of its rule redefining “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) in the Clean Water Act.... more »

California tests show low pesticide levels on produce

Tests on produce collected by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation indicate the vast majority of fruits and vegetables available for sale in California meet stringent federal pesticide safety standards. During its 2014 survey, DPR... more »

Marrone Bio Innovations receives EPA approval for Majestene bionematicide

Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI), a provider of bio-based pest management and plant health products for the agriculture, turf and ornamental and water treatment markets, has received EPA approval for its latest product, Majestene, a broad spectrum, high performance... more »

Hiring labor for your farm? Use the Agricultural Employer Checklist

Agricultural employers of labor in Michigan have a newly updated tool in the form of the Agricultural Employer Checklist, which was revised Oct. 1, 2015 and updated by Stan Moore, Adam Kantrovich, Corey Risch and John Jones of Michigan State University Extension. The... more »