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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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COVID-19, the Produce Safety Rule, and Records for Qualified Exempt Growers
Photo Credit Edwin Remsberg This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. On May 22, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced flexibility in the eligibility criteria for the qualified exemption from the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption (Produce Safety Rule) due to disruptions to the supply chain for the duration of the COV
Sarah Everhart
Nov 2, 20213 min read
Are You Eligible for New USDA Grant for COVID Response Expenditures?
Read for details on how to apply for USDA Pandemic Response and Safety Grant Program
Megan Todd
Oct 12, 20215 min read
Register Today for Ag & Environmental Law Conference
Photo Credit Edwin Remsberg This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) will hold its seventh annual Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference (AELC) virtually Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., and Thursday, Nov. 18, 9 a.m. - noon. This unique event brings together stakeholders from Maryland’s agriculture, conservation, and legal fields to focus on the network of environmental laws
Sarah Everhart
Sep 21, 20212 min read
Farm Lease Notice Period Change Goes Into Effect October 1, 2021
For anyone considering renewing or terminating their existing lease agreement, be aware that the Maryland General Assembly recently amended
Megan Todd
Aug 31, 20212 min read
Recent Legal Decisions Uphold Proposition 12's Livestock Production Standards
Photo Credit Edwin Remsberg This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. This summer the U.S. Supreme Court and the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Circuit) have issued rulings in two different cases challenging California's Proposition 12. Proposition 12, a 2018 ballot initiative, enacted animal welfare standards that will impact all livestock producers who want to sell meat in California. Giv
Sarah Everhart
Aug 10, 20213 min read
Iowa Supreme Court Rules for the State in Raccoon River Case
Photo Credit Edwin Remsberg This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. On June 18th the Iowa Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, dismissed a case in which the plaintiffs cited the public trust doctrine as a basis to compel the state to adopt mandatory agricultural water pollution controls. The case was brought by the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Food & Water Watch groups against the State of Iowa and various stat
Sarah Everhart
Jun 29, 20213 min read
Handle Pesticides Legally this Season
This post will outline a few of the resources, including Maryland's Pesticide Disposal Program, available to farmers.
Sarah Everhart
Jun 8, 20213 min read
Prevailing Wages and Practices - Maryland Agricultural Employment Surveys
Farm workers harvesting grapes. Photo Credit: Edwin Remsberg This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL) has started conducting the 2021 Agricultural Employment Surveys (AES), beginning May 17th and continuing until early October. The results will provide an inside look at Maryland’s prevailing wages and employment practices for agricultural jobs within the state by sector - useful information fo
Megan Todd
May 18, 20213 min read
Upcoming Changes in Maryland's Agricultural Cost Share Program
A bill (S.B. 344) passed by the Maryland State Legislature during the 2021 session changes the Maryland Agricultural Cost-Share Program.
Sarah Everhart
Apr 27, 20213 min read
What is a Cottage Food?
Photo Credit Edwin Remsberg The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Are you contemplating turning your crops into value-added products this season? If so, you won't be alone. According to the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, 506 Maryland farms produce value-added products. The laws applicable to value-added products vary depending on the food type, sales methods, and volume. This blog post, one in a series about farm-source
Sarah Everhart
Apr 6, 20214 min read
Maryland Circuit Court Judge Reverses Final Maryland AFO Permit
Concrete pads on the back of poultry houses by Edwin Remsberg This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Author's note: On April 12, 2021, the Maryland Attorney General's office filed a notice of appeal with the Court of Special Appeals. I will post a new post covering the appeal once that information is available. Earlier this month, a circuit court judge in Montgomery County reversed the Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MD
Paul Goeringer
Mar 23, 20214 min read
Legalities of Direct Marketing Specialty Crops
To help farmers be better prepared to navigate the legalities of direct farm marketing, ALEI created A Legal Guide to Direct Farm Marketing
Sarah Everhart
Mar 16, 20213 min read
2021 Adverse Effect Wage Rate - Suspensions, Injunctions, and Announcements
Today the latest Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) was published in the Federal Register. For everyone who is wondering what has been going on
Sarah Everhart
Feb 23, 20214 min read
USDA Announces Temporary Debt Relief for Farmers Amid Continued Pandemic
Photo Credit: Edwin Remsberg The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. On January 26, 2021, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in a press release that it will temporarily suspend past-due debt collections and foreclosures for farmers borrowing under the Farm Storage Facility Loan and the Direct Farm Loan programs administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). This debt relief is the latest addition t
Megan Todd
Feb 2, 20212 min read
Updates to the Paycheck Protection Program and COVID-19 Sick Leave
Photo Credit Edwin Remsberg The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. On December 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act). The Act contains many topics of interest to the farm community, this post, however, will focus on the impacts to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the federally mandated sick and family medical leave. To read more about previous versions
Sarah Everhart
Jan 12, 20213 min read
Maryland Court of Appeals Finds Farm Manager is not a Joint Employee of Poultry Integrator
Poultry barns in Maryland. Image by Chesapeake Bay Program This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. For those who remember back in 2019, I posted about a Court of Special Appeals decision which found that a poultry farm manager was a joint employee of both the poultry farm owner and the poultry company, Tyson Farms, Inc. Tyson appealed that decision to the Court of Appeals of Maryland. The Court of Appeals recently reversed that de
Paul Goeringer
Dec 8, 20204 min read
New Resource Helps Farmers with Legal Side of Direct Marketing
Legal specialists at the Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) developed the Legal Guide to Direct Farm Marketing to assist growers.
Megan Todd
Dec 1, 20203 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
Appeals Court Remands Enlist Duo Registration to EPA But Does Not Vacate
Post provides an overview of the recent ruling in the 9th Circuit with Enlist Duo
Paul Goeringer
Sep 15, 20204 min read
Employer Liability in the Time of COVID
By Nicole Cook This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. As we are all too well aware, there are myriad sources of exposure to COVID-19. The workplace is one. Farms, as essential businesses, have continued to operate throughout the pandemic, and farm employers are starting to ask whether they should worry about their employees suing them claiming that they contracted COVID-19 at work. This post looks at the potential type
Nicole Cook
Jun 9, 20207 min read
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