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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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Announcing Rescheduled Leasing Workshops on Upper Shore
On Dec. 2nd from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., farmers in the Cecil, Kent, Caroline, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties area will have an opportunity to learn more about the agricultural land leasing issues at the upcoming Farm Leasing Workshop. The workshop is sponsored by Agriculture Law Education Initiative, University of Maryland Extension, Maryland Department of Agriculture, and Maryland FarmLink and funding is provided by USDA-NIFA and the Northeast Extension Risk Management Educat
Paul Goeringer
Nov 7, 20142 min read
When The Wind Turbine Man Comes a Knockin’: You Mean I Can Get Paid for the Wind?
By Ashley Ellixson and Paul Goeringer This post should not be construed as legal advice A few areas in Maryland are debating whether to allow development of wind turbines (aka windmills). Putting a wind turbine on a property will open up new revenue sources for a landowner and potentially impact (negatively or positively) neighboring landowners. At the same time, a landowner who wants to see these new revenues will have to sign a very lengthy “wind energy agreem
Paul Goeringer
Nov 6, 20145 min read
New Publication Provides Overview of Maryland’s Fencing Laws
There is an old adage on good fences and neighbors. This is especially true in agriculture. A good fence can keep livestock in the pasture, can keep livestock off your property, or can act as a barrier to potentially detour trespassers/unwanted visitors. But what exactly is the fencing laws in Maryland? Like many states in the East, Maryland does not have a specific state statute defining what a fence is and the duties for two neighboring landowners in erecting a fence.
Paul Goeringer
Nov 5, 20141 min read
Experts to Discuss, Explain Tough Topics at Agricultural Outlook and Policy Conference
Plans for the 2014 Agricultural Outlook and Policy Conference, sponsored by the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (AREC) at the University of Maryland, are being finalized, with expert speakers scheduled to share their thoughts about the current state of economic affairs and provide insights on where we may be going from here. This highly anticipated event will take place December 16th at the DoubleTree Hotel, located at 210 Holiday Ct., Annapolis,
Paul Goeringer
Nov 4, 20142 min read
Maryland Agricultural Certainty Program’s Proposed Regulations Announced
By Ashley Ellixson and Paul Goeringer This post shall not be construed as legal advice. On October 17, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) published the proposed regulations for the Agricultural Certainty Program (ACP) in the Maryland Register (http://1.usa.gov/1yLxuVT). ACP, passed by the General Assembly during the 2013 session, is a voluntary program which allows producers who meet and maintain compliance with Maryland water quality standards to be ce
Paul Goeringer
Oct 31, 20145 min read
Upcoming Farm Bill Workshops Announced For Maryland Producers
USDA – Farm Service Agency University of Maryland’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (AREC), University of Maryland Extension (UME), Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), and USDA – Risk Management Agency would like to announce a series of upcoming Farm Bill workshops across Maryland. These workshops will build upon the earlier ones held in August and familiarize participants with final rules, signup deadlines, and how to utilize decision tools to pick t
Paul Goeringer
Oct 29, 20142 min read
Is There a “Right-to-Farm” in Urban Areas?
By Ashley Ellixson and Paul Goeringer Recently, we spoke at the Community Law Center’s Urban Agricultural Law Conference, offering a joint presentation on the topic: Is there a right-to-farm in the city? What started off appearing to be a simple answer in our heads turned out to be a little more complicated than originally thought once we began to organize the presentation. The short answer is, it will all depend on your state’s right-to-farm laws language, but the other qu
Paul Goeringer
Oct 27, 20143 min read
Breakdown of Legal Needs Assessment: What Kind of Educational Outreach Will Work Best
Today, I’m going to wrap up the breakdown of the recent needs assessment released by the Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI). In previous posts, I have broken down the structured interviews (click here) and the UME survey results (click here). In this post, we will focus on the educational outreach methods UME faculty thought would work the best in reaching agricultural producers in the state. If you are interested in the viewing the survey instrument, please click
Paul Goeringer
Oct 23, 20143 min read
Breakdown of Legal Needs Assessment: A Look at the UME Survey Results
If you are a Twitter user, hopefully you enjoyed following the thoughts of those of us in attendance at American Agricultural Law Association’s AALA’s annual meeting. I have a feeling that the sessions Ashley and I attended will spur some future blog posts and possibly Extension publications. Today, I’m in Oklahoma visiting my family’s farm and taking a few days off (this post was schedule to post before I left for New Mexico). But even though I’m on vacation, I
Paul Goeringer
Oct 21, 20143 min read
Breakdown of Legal Needs Assessment: A Look at the Structured Interviews
This week Ashley and I both are at the American Agricultural Law Association’s annual meeting in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s a good opportunity for us to see old friends in the ag law community, meet new people in the ag law field, and learn about a variety of legal topics impacting U.S. agriculture. If you are interested in seeing the agenda for the conference, please click here. If you see a session on the agenda and would like a copy of the materials, plea
Paul Goeringer
Oct 19, 20143 min read
Solutions for Community Supported Agriculture
Recently, the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics along with other partners received a grant from USDA to develop educational materials to assist CSA operators in developing their contracts. As we move forward, you will probably see posts here from Ashley or myself covering this topic. But below is a copy of AGNR’s press release on the grant by Rachael Keeny: Community Supported Agriculture – or CSA – is a growing national trend that allows consumers to b
Paul Goeringer
Oct 16, 20142 min read
New Report Highlights Legal Challenges Facing Maryland’s Agricultural Community
The Maryland agricultural community is facing a diverse and complex set of legal challenges, Paul Goeringer, Wanding Zhang, Lori Lynch, Stephan Tubene, and Will Pons offer a recently published report with the results of a legal needs assessment for the state’s agricultural sector – the first of its kind in Maryland. The needs assessment is based on 26 structured interviews conducted with leaders from the agricultural industry and state government. University of
Paul Goeringer
Oct 15, 20141 min read
Do Non-Farmers Pay Self-Employment Taxes on CRP Rental Payments?
This post should not be construed as legal advice Maryland currently has over 65,000 acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a federal land conservation program managed by Farm Service Agency. Landowners enroll environmentally sensitive land and remove the land from agricultural production in exchange for a yearly rental payment. The issue has been how to treat that yearly rental payment from CRP on tax returns as either self-employment tax or
Paul Goeringer
Oct 14, 20143 min read
Managing Legal Risks for Agritourism Operations
This column should not be construed as legal advice This column originally appeared in the Lancaster Farming, Vol. 59 No. 52 Oct. 4th Edition. I realize this column is a couple of months overdue but we are in the middle of agritourism season for many farms across the state and country. Many of you have the opportunity to walk through corn mazes, pick pumpkins, or go on a hayride. But many agritourism operators have concerns about how to limit liability for custo
Paul Goeringer
Oct 10, 20143 min read
The Raw Facts: Let’s Talk About State Laws Regulating Raw Milk
By Ashley Ellixson and Paul Goeringer This post should not be considered legal advice Let’s talk about a subject majority of you may have feelings about (either for or against): raw milk. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires all milk sold in interstate commerce (commerce involving more than one state) to be pasteurized (21 CFR § 1240.61 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/1240.61)). Intrastate sales (sales only involving one state) are currently n
Paul Goeringer
Oct 8, 20144 min read
Frequently Asked Questions: Can the State Highway Administration Plant Trees Adjacent to My Farm?
Today I attempt to answer a question I’ve had from many of you over the past month and a half. Many of you are concerned that the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) will potentially be planting trees on state highway right-of-ways which could mean trees get planted on areas currently being used as agricultural fields. The question that many of you ask me is: Can the SHA do this? Maryland has established a Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) to reduce p
Paul Goeringer
Oct 2, 20142 min read
Updated: What Do Landlords Need to Know About the 2014 Farm Bill?
Last week, I posted on the need for landlords and farms with multiple owners to consider updating their power of attorneys with Farm Service Agency (FSA) to allow tenants or a single landowner the ability to make new farm program decisions. Today, let’s talk about what decisions landlords need to consider making with the tenant, making on his/her own, or just signing a power of attorney and letting the tenant handle. Landlords will need to think about reallocating base acre
Paul Goeringer
Sep 30, 20144 min read
Frequently Asked Questions: Hanging No Trespassing Signs
This post should not be construed as legal advice. Hanging a “No Trespassing” sign is a good way to put the public on notice that your property is private and trespassers are not welcome. But how many “No Trespassing” signs should you hang? Is one enough? Two? Three? Or how many exactly should you hang? This is a question many of you ask me periodically. Let’s first talk about how many signs you should hang on your property. To start with, a tresp
Paul Goeringer
Sep 25, 20143 min read
Updated: Updating Your Power of Attorney with USDA
This post should not be construed as legal advice. In the coming months, many of you will have important decisions to make regarding the new Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs. Will you select the new Price Loss Coverage (PLC) option, Agricultural Risk Coverage – County Level (ARC-CO), or Agricultural Risk Coverage – Individual Option (ARC-IC)? This decision will not be easy one. Once FSA issues the details, I will put out information on how to use decision mak
Paul Goeringer
Sep 23, 20143 min read
What About Silent Partners?: An Overview of Limited Partnerships
This post should not be construed as legal advice. Today, we continue our look at business organizations structures that you could potentially utilize when setting up your farm, with a focus on limited partnerships. Remember from our previous partnership discussion, a partnership is a separate legal entity created by two or more individuals (“partners”) who each contribute capital, equipment, and skills and share in profits and losses. Partnerships come in two f
Paul Goeringer
Sep 16, 20143 min read
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