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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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Maryland Supreme Court Reverses in Foster Farms Case: Lessons for County Right-to-Farm Boards
Tractor pulling disc and tilling farmland in Red River Basin by USDA This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The Supreme Court of Maryland recently handed down a decision in the appeal of Talbot County’s decision involving the application and stockpiling of biosolids and soil conditioners on a farm and the county and state’s right-to-farm laws. The Supreme Court found that the Appellate Court’s decision involving the state’s righ
Paul Goeringer
Aug 5, 20254 min read
State Appellate Court Overturns Circuit Court’s Right-to-Farm Decision
Spraying Soybean field by United Soybean Board This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. As we move into late spring and early summer, the state’s Appellate Court has clarified the state’s right-to-farm law application. In this decision, the court found that the state’s right-to-farm law protected a Maryland operation's expanded use of soil conditioners and biosolids and did not trigger a resetting of the one-year provision in the
Paul Goeringer
Jun 5, 20243 min read
Federal Court Grants Summary Judgment For Murphy-Brown in New Hog Farm Litigation
Image of hogs in confined operation by United Soybean Board The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. A federal district court in North Carolina recently granted summary judgment in favor of Murphy-Brown, LLC, regarding negligence and trespass claims brought by neighbors of a hog farm that contracts with Murphy-Brown. This litigation had been watched by those of us following right-to-farm law developments since it utilized
Paul Goeringer
Aug 29, 20233 min read
Talbot County Circuit Court Holds Right-to-Farm Law Did Apply to Agriculture Operation
Tractor pulling disc and tilling farmland in Red River Basin by USDA The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Often, I rarely get to focus on a right-farm law decision in Maryland. Because the state’s right-to-farm law directs disputes into mediation, we often do not get decisions involving the law. Recently, a Talbot County Circuit Court judge reviewed the decision of the county agricultural resolution board involving a
Paul Goeringer
Jul 18, 20233 min read
Right-to-Farm Amendments: A Look at Common Changes with South Dakota’s Law
Grasslands for ranching in South Dakota image is by USDA-NRCS.jpg The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In March, South Dakota’s governor signed House Bill 1090, which amended the state’s right-to-farm law. These changes mirror similar changes in North Carolina's changes to their right-to-farm law. These changes include clarifying when the operation gains the defense protections and who can bring a lawsuit and damages. Y
Paul Goeringer
Apr 4, 20234 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
North Carolina Court Rejects Challenges to Changes Made to State Right-to-Farm Law
Image of piglets in hog operation by United Soybean Board The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The end of 2021 saw development on the right-to-farm law front. The Court of Appeals of North Carolina recently rejected arguments that amendments to the state’s right-to-farm law were facially unconstitutional. To the court, the law was not unconstitutional on its face. The decision is in Rural Empowerment Assn. for Communit
Paul Goeringer
Jan 6, 20224 min read
Refresher on Right-to-Farm Laws: What Do They Do
Planting cover crops image by Edwin Remsberg This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. I often get asked questions about right-to-farm laws and how these laws operate. All 50 states have a version of a right-to-farm law that provides a defense against a nuisance action brought against an agricultural operation. The agricultural operation would need to meet the statutory requirements in the law to utilize the defense.
Paul Goeringer
Nov 9, 20212 min read
State Court Decision Highlights When Right-to-Farm Laws Might Not Apply
Image of poultry farm by Edwin Remsberg This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. A Texas state court of appeals recently announced a decision on appeal. The court upheld a trial court’s granting a permanent injunction to neighbors to prevent two poultry farms from operating near their houses (Huynh v. Blanchard, 2021). This case involves a nuisance claim and highlights when right-to-farm laws may not provide a defense t
Paul Goeringer
Sep 15, 20215 min read
Supreme Court of Mississippi Finds Use of Scare Guns Falls Under the Right-to-Farm Law
Soybean field by United Soybean Growers This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. I am back again, highlighting another court decision covering a state’s right-to-farm law and the use of scare guns. In Mississippi, two producers began using propane cannon scare guns to prevent deer from eating their cotton and soybean crops during the summer months. The propane cannons created loud noises, and the neighbors’ ensuing lawsuit tried to
Paul Goeringer
May 25, 20214 min read
Federal Judge Allows New Lawsuit to Continue Against Smithfield and Murphy-Brown
Hogs being grown in a confined operation by United Soybean Board This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Late in 2020, we had a North Carolina Hog Farm Litigation settlement that ended several lawsuits filed against Murphy-Brown, LLC and Smithfield Foods. In May 2020, neighboring landowners filed a new set of federal lawsuits against Murphy-Brown and Smithfield, the same defendants in the prior lawsuits. Similar to the previous law
Paul Goeringer
May 4, 20214 min read
More on Scare Guns and the Right-to-Farm Law
Farm scene with open fields and buildings. Image by L. Shanley This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In 2015, I wrote a post covering the town of Trempealeau, Wisconsin, scare gun ordinances, and the Klein family. That post involved a 2013 challenge to the town’s scare gun ordinance requiring anyone seeking to use a scare gun to apply for a permit from the city and meet a minimum set of conditions. In 2017, the town changed the
Paul Goeringer
Apr 13, 20214 min read
Being Proactive In Your Operation Can Help Prevent Lawsuits
Understand potential ways to possibly manage legal risks in your operation.
Paul Goeringer
Nov 17, 20203 min read
New South Wales Passes Right-to-Farm Law and Enhanced Trespass Penalties
The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The New South Wales (NSW) Parliament has...
Paul Goeringer
Dec 3, 20194 min read
Frequently Updated Questions: Hey, Paul Does Growing Hemp Qualify for the Right-to-Farm Defense?
The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The 2018 Farm Bill allows for more growers to...
Paul Goeringer
Oct 1, 20192 min read
CourtFinds Indiana Hog Farm Entitled to Right-to-Farm Defense, Upholding Its Constitutional
The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In 2019, we continue to see decisions...
Paul Goeringer
May 21, 20194 min read
Iowa Right-to-Farm Decision Highlights Importance of Understanding Right-to-Farm Laws Operations
The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Right-to-farm laws have been in the news...
Paul Goeringer
Sep 4, 20184 min read
Right-to-Farm Law Does Not Protect Landowner From Nuisance Caused by Septage Lagoons
The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Today, I want to highlight a recent...
Paul Goeringer
Jun 5, 20185 min read
Right-to-Farm Constitutional Amendment Did Not Create a Constitutional Right to Grow Pot
The article is not a substitute for legal advice. The University of Maryland does not advocate for the cultivation or legalization of...
Paul Goeringer
Feb 13, 20183 min read
Court of Appeals Finds State’s Right-to-Farm Law is Unconstitutional As Applied
This post is not legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. All fifty states have some version of a right-to-farm law,...
Paul Goeringer
Jan 25, 20174 min read
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