By Mayhah Suri
What Kind of Ag Law Outreach Would You Like to See? Now available online is a program evaluation for the Ag Law Education Initiative (ALEI). The evaluation will help ALEI determine what topics to prioritize in the coming years. Let us know what you want to know! You can take the brief, anonymous survey here: http://go.umd.edu/ALEIEval
USDA Extends MPP Signup USDA will extend the signup period for dairy producers to enroll in the Margin Protection Program (MPP) till Dec. 16, 2016. To see more about USDA’s extension of the signup period and move to purchase 11 million pounds of cheese, click here http://bit.ly/2bvIJfn. To understand how the MPP program operates and likelihood of program payments this year, see USDA’s MPP Decision Tool, http://1.usa.gov/1vnXLVc.
Reminder Crop Insurance Workshop is Sept. 13. Want to learn about climate change and agriculture and new developments with the crop insurance program? Then come to Doubletree Hotel on Sept. 13 from 9am to 3:30. The workshop is free to attend and you can register at http://go.umd.edu/MdCropInsWorkshop.
Factsheet Available Overviewing SQ777 A growing topic in agricultural law is amending state constitutions to include right-to-farm constitutional amendments. Drs. Shannon Ferrell and Larry Sanders, friends of the blog, have put together a factsheet highlighting the debate over Oklahoma’s proposed constitution amendment, SQ777. You can read the factsheet at http://go.umd.edu/SQ777.
Defending Trade Secrets Act of 2016 For those that missed it, farmerhayek.com has a post up this week from looking at the newly enacted Trade Secrets Act of 2016. The new federal law potentially offers protections to farmers looking to protect their ag data. The post is available at http://bit.ly/2bsregh.
ARC-CO Payment Estimates Online Earlier this week, Farmdoc Daily has posted 2015 projected ARC-CO payments for corn and soybeans. Check out the potential estimates at http://bit.ly/2bgZygv.
Wicomico County farmers and Residential Neighbors Clash over Poultry Zoning The Aug. 23 gathering was similar in many respects to one in March. Both drew about 600 people to the Youth & Civic Center’s Midway Room. Both centered on the potential health and environmental consequences of industrial-scale chicken production. For the full story click here: http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/2016/08/23/farmers-neighbors-clash-over-poultry-house-rules/89209210/ Upcoming Webinar on Veterinary Feed Directive 9/8 @ 12:00 p.m. The webinar will provide an overview of the 2015 Veterinary Feed Directive rule and the use of medically important antibiotics in food-producing animals. The webinar will include a discussion on the implementation of the VFD rule in Maryland and nationwide. Webinar presenters will include Drs. Michael W. Radebaugh, State Veterinarian/Chief Animal Health, Maryland Department of Agriculture and Michael Murphy, Food and Drug Administration. Register here: https://extension.umd.edu/events/thu-2016-09-08-1200-understanding-veterinary-feed-directive-webinar
2016 American Ag Law Association’s Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City For those attorneys with an interest in agricultural law, the AALA will hold their annual meeting in Oklahoma City on Oct. 6 – 8. The meeting features numerous CLE opportunities and opportunities to network with ag law attorneys from across the United States. You can get more details on the agenda and register at http://go.umd.edu/AALA16.
Congratulations to ALEI’s Ashley Ellixson and her husband Tom on the arrival of their baby, Thomas Duke, on August 24th.