A third-generation South Dakota farmer filed a lawsuit last week (May 6, 2021) against the US Department of Agriculture saying the federal agency is unlawfully preventing him from farming one of his fields.
Tony Francois, a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, says in 2011, a division of the Department of Agriculture ruled a small seasonal mud puddle on Arlen Foster’s farm is protected by federal law as a wetland. He says even though the federal government has no authority to regulate such puddles, it’s threatening to take away Foster’s ability to participate in federal programs to achieve the outcome that it wants.
Francois says Foster has a right to use his property and coercing him in this way violates his right. He says Foster is suing over the unconstitutional conditions USDA is attaching to his participation in crop insurance and other federal programs.
Foster is represented free of charge by Pacific Legal Foundation. The case, “Foster v. U.S. Department of Agriculture,” was filed in the US District Court for the District of South Dakota.
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