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Note: This website is intended to provide general information about legal issues, crop insurance, farm policy, and other risk management issues and should not be construed as providing legal advice. It should not be cited or relied upon as legal authority. For advice about how the issues discussed here might apply to your individual situation, you should consult an attorney.
Welcome to the Maryland Risk Management Education Blog, provided by the University of Maryland Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. This blog provides readers with information on risk management issues important to Maryland agriculture, upcoming events, and new materials that may interest readers.
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Another Class Action Filed Claiming Companies Have Miscategorized Contract Growers
Aerial image of three poultry houses in Queen Anne's county surrounded by trees. Image by the Chesapeake Bay Program The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Earlier this year, I posted about a recently filed class action lawsuit involving contract poultry growers, arguing that they were employees of Amick Farms and not independent contractors. For anyone needing a refresher on a class action lawsuit, I encourag
Paul Goeringer
Sep 13, 20223 min read
Update On USDA’s Debt Relief Plan For Black And Socially Disadvantaged Farmers
Image by Edwin Remsberg This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. For the past year or so we’ve been keeping you informed about the historic debt relief for black farmers that was in Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the subsequent lawsuits that halted distribution of the relief payments. Now, just two weeks ago, Congress passed and President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (I
Nicole Cook
Aug 30, 20224 min read
Supreme Court of Iowa Reverses Course on Right-to-Farm Rulings
Picture of hog snout by Alex Lafayette via University of Arkansas The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. I like to discuss recent right-to-farm court rulings from across the country because it helps us better understand how those laws are applied in other states. Iowa has often been an outlier in right-to-farm decisions, based on a 2004 decision that had often been used to find the law unconstitutional as appl
Paul Goeringer
Aug 23, 20224 min read
ALEI Business Structures Webinar Series Continues Thru August
Have you had a chance to tune in for the ALEI 2022 August webinar series?
Megan Todd
Aug 16, 20222 min read
Maryland’s New Partition of Property Act: How It Restores Hope For Heirs’ Property Owners
Image by Edwin Remsberg This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In May, Maryland joined twenty-one other states that have enacted a version of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act. Maryland’s new “Partition Of Property Act” goes into effect October 1, 2022. The goal of the legislation is to help Maryland families preserve their families’ wealth and legacies in the form of real property that can be passed on to the
Nicole Cook
Aug 9, 20223 min read
Broiler Grower Settlement Forms Arriving to Mid-Atlantic Growers: Background on the Class Action
Image of poultry houses by Livestock & Poultry Environmental Learning Center The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The Mid-Atlantic region’s poultry growers may have started to receive settlement forms recently for broiler grower class action lawsuit settlement. Growers might be surprised to receive this form in the mail and may have questions on what the class action was about. If you have questions about th
Paul Goeringer
Aug 2, 20222 min read
OSHA Inspections Of Farms To Include Heat Preparedness
Image from istockphoto We all know it’s hot outside. But, if you have workers on your farm, including yourself, then you should know that heat poses a particular health risk to farm workers. Heat-related safety issues are an important issue for farms of all sizes. But, if your farm is one that is large enough to be subject to federal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) inspection, you should know that, on days where there is a heat advisory, even if OSHA
Nicole Cook
Jul 19, 20223 min read
What is Ancillary Probate?
Harvesting soybeans on Maryland's Eastern Shore by the Chesapeake Bay Program The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. I often spend time explaining the succession and estate planning processes to the agricultural community and the importance of developing tools that work for their situations. One situation when tools are needed is when the individual resides in one state but owns property in another state. For
Paul Goeringer
Jul 12, 20222 min read
ALEI August Webinar Series - Legal Considerations for Choosing Your Farm Business Structure
Sign up now! ALEI August webinar series - Legal Considerations for Choosing Your Farm Business Structure
Megan Todd
Jul 6, 20223 min read
$200 Million From USDA To Help Small Specialty Crop Growers With Food Safety Requirements
Photo by Edwin Remsberg This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Are you a small or very small specialty crop producer? And have you had to pay costs to comply with regulatory food safety certification requirements or buyers’ food safety certification requirements? Then keep reading because the USDA has just announced plans to provide up to $200 million to help specialty crop growers offset eligible costs associated with
Nicole Cook
Jun 28, 20224 min read
Interpreting Conservation Easements and When New Structures are Allowed
Image of Tractor in Barn by Richard Due found on Flickr. The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland recently reversed the Circuit Court for Howard County’s granting of summary judgment involving how to interpret a conservation easement. At issue in the decision is whether the easement allowed for additional residences to be built on the preserved farmland beyond the existin
Paul Goeringer
Jun 21, 20225 min read
USDA Seeks Comments On Rule To Make Poultry Growing Contracts And Tournaments More Transparent
Photo by Edwin Remsberg This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The USDA is seeking comments on a proposed rule entitled “Transparency in Poultry Growing Contracts and Tournaments.” On May 26, 2022, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service announced the proposed rule under the Packers and Stockyards Act. This is the first of three rulemakings that the USDA intends to issue under the Packers and Stockyards Act pursuant t
Nicole Cook
Jun 7, 20223 min read
Grant for Ag Lease Builder Website From The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment
Image of Corn Harvest. Photo Credit Edwin Remsberg The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In February, the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment awarded the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation, Inc. a $40,000 grant to help farmers and farm landowners form farm leases that support on-farm conservation practices, through a newly created website. The Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) at The Universit
Sarah Everhart
May 24, 20222 min read
Potential Class Action Lawsuit Filed Arguing Broiler Growers Are Employees of Company
Poultry farm with deer in foreground image by Chesapeake Bay Program.jpg The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. An interesting potential class action was recently filed in U.S. district court in South Carolina involving a broiler grower and Amick Farms. In this class action suit, the grower argues that they and other similarly situated growers for Amick Farms are Amick employees and not independent contractors
Paul Goeringer
May 10, 20224 min read
Meat Labeling Laws: What's in a Name?
This post focuses on two recent federal cases filed by plant-based food manufacturer The Tofurky Company challenging LA and MO laws.
Sarah Everhart
May 3, 20224 min read
FSA Updates Farm Loan Programs To Increase Equity Among All Current Borrowers
Image by Edwin Remsberg This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In March, the USDA announced that it is updating its farm loan programs to allow FSA flexibility in working with existing borrowers who may be in non-compliance with their loan program requirements, if the borrower acted in good faith and relied on a material action of, advice of, or non-action from an FSA official. This change applies to all current borrower
Nicole Cook
Apr 26, 20224 min read
Proposed Legislation Would Allow for Higher THC Levels in Hemp Products
Image of hemp growing in Maryland by Edwin Remsberg The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The Maryland General Assembly currently has a bill before it which would all for products made from industrial hemp to contain 1 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration on a dry weight basis. This would be up from the current limit of THC, which cannot exceed 0.3 percent concentration on a dry weight basis. As we
Paul Goeringer
Apr 19, 20223 min read
New Online Water Assessment Tool Guides Growers Through Proposed Rule Requirements
This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Anyone who attended a Produce Safety Rule grower training this past winter might remember hearing about the proposed rule that will change the agricultural water regulations that apply to covered farms. For anyone who has not heard yet, a recent blog post goes into detail about what the Proposed Rule changes will entail. In a nutshell, if finalized, the proposed rule will require far
Sarah Everhart
Apr 12, 20223 min read
Reduce Farm Labor Law Compliance Risk: Check Out DOL’s Online Sessions
Image by Edwin Remsberg This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Do you have questions about Federal labor laws that apply to your farm workers? What about the H-2A Temporary Employment Certification requirements? Or, would you like to learn more about OSHA health and safety requirements for farm workers? Maybe you want a refresher on the Fair Labor Standards Act and child labor, or maybe how to comply with the Migrant a
Nicole Cook
Apr 5, 20222 min read
Understanding What an Easement by Necessity Is and When One Is Created
Antietam National Battlefield in Washington County, Maryland by the Chesapeake Bay Program The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. A court may grant an easement by necessity as a remedy when an owner splits a parcel into two properties, and one of those new properties becomes inaccessible. The idea is that the parties did not intend to create a property unfit for occupancy. A recent decision by the Court of Spe
Paul Goeringer
Mar 29, 20225 min read
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