Federal Law re Agricultural Production

Federal laws and regulations are the base of the pyramid of laws and regulations impacting agriculture in California. The federal government passes legislation, issues regulations, and establishes and supports policies that impact the agricultural and food processing industry on national issues, typically interstate in nature. Many of the laws and regulations that are passed at a national level are implemented by state and local governments, or agencies of the federal government in district, state, or local offices. The federal government also enters into cooperative and/or work-sharing agreements with state and local government to implement federal agricultural and food processing law and policy. The principal federal agencies at the national level that implement federal agricultural and food processing law are the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), and the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), but there are many others.