Legal Bites: Q2 2026 Edition

Michael Best’s Agribusiness, Food & Beverage practice represents more than 130 clients in every part of the industry. We serve clients at every link in the food production and distribution chain: growers, processors, makers, distributors, and retailers of food, feed products, and ingredients; as well as trade associations, equipment manufacturers, packagers, restaurant management companies, and other industry service providers. Our work involves M&A, real estate, environmental and other regulatory compliance, food safety, recalls, labeling/claims, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, commodity contracting and logistics, and more. Legal Bites is a quarterly newsletter designed to keep our clients current on legal happenings affecting the industry.

These updates include FDA updates, FDA warning letters, USDA updates, and other articles of interest.

• April 2026
• May 2026
• June 2026

Dynamic Dairy Markets Continue Amid Record Production

As reported by the Wisconsin Agriculturist–and as supported by my good friend Cory Geiger, lead dairy economist at CoBank–the beef-on-dairy opportunity (amid declining beef supplies) has catapulted the domestic dairy herd to its highest numbers in the last three decades...Read more.

EPA Takes a Fresh Look at PFAS Risks in Updated Biosolids Guidance 

As published in the Federal Register (FR) on July 6, 2026, commenters have until September 4, 2026 to comment on EPA's newly released “Draft Guidance for Risk Reduction from PFOA and PFOS in Biosolids”...Read more.

RNG Volumes at Landfills Lead the Way

The solid waste management industry provides a vital community service every day across the nation. Waste management companies are also increasingly capturing the value of methane that is naturally produced during the decomposition of organic waste materials in landfills...Read more.

Dairy Biogas Projects Gain Steam 

June is Dairy Month and the American Biogas Council (ABC) marked it by releasing new data on the surge of biogas project development in the dairy industry...Read more.

New World Screwworm in TX 

USDA has confirmed – for the first time in 60 years-- the detection of a New World screwworm (NWS) on American soil.  According to USDA, the pest was confirmed in a bovine calf in Zavala County, Texas...Read more.

PFAS in Biosolids/Industrial Sludges -- Time Marches On

Earlier this month, Jess Kramer, EPA's Assistant Administrator of the Office of Water, announced that the Agency is hard at work developing a new risk-based guidance concerning the land application of biosolids that may contain PFAs...Read more.