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Local ag update: Monroe County agricultural report highlights Supreme Court FIFRA ruling, smoke impacts and market outlook
Summary
Ned Berkey gave the board an agricultural briefing noting a June 26 Supreme Court decision he said ruled 7–2 that FIFRA preempts some state failure-to-warn claims, ongoing smoke from wildfires and a cautiously bullish crop outlook for the second half of the year.
An agricultural briefing delivered during citizen comment covered recent legal and market issues affecting farmers. Ned Berkey told the board that, in his summary of a June 26 U.S. Supreme Court opinion in a case involving Bayer/Monsanto, "the court ruled 7 to 2 that FIFRA expressly preempts some claims," meaning, in his words, states cannot change pesticide labels. He also discussed smoke from Canadian and Northwest wildfires and said the smoke has not affected agricultural production in past years.
Berkey addressed market signals, noting early-year price pressures from fertilizer and diesel that have eased, and cited industry projections that second-half yields and prices are expected to be more favorable. He recommended improved traceability records for food safety and observed that Michigan allows certain foreign ownership of farmland, a point he said distinguishes the state from many others.
Board members thanked Berkey and discussed the value of formally scheduling his ag updates on future agendas.
