By Mayhah Suri
Farmer Support Office to Open in Easton Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture is pleased to announce the launch of its new Eastern Shore Program, tasked with helping new and existing Delmarva farmers innovate for greater profit and protection of the Bay. The new office will be located at 114 S. Washington Street, Suite 101, Easton, MD 21601 — but most of the time we will be traveling to farms and food businesses across the peninsula. For more information read the full story here: https://www.morningagclips.com/farmer-support-office-to-open-on-delmarva/
U.S. Senate split over labeling GM foods A divided U.S. Senate could not invoke cloture to bring the Biotechnology Labeling Solutions Bill to vote last week. The cloture vote, which required 60 for passage, failed by a dozen votes, 48-49. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-KS, would have stopped states from imposing their own labels on foods containing genetically modified ingredients. Transparency is everything, “ said Sen. Jon Tester, D-MT. “Transparency leads to accountability and gives power to Americans. It’s true when we talk about food, too. Free markets work when consumers have access to information.” Read the full story here: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/03/senate-split-over-labeling-food-with-genetically-engineered-ingredients/#.VvKp2-IrJaQ
and check out ALEI’s take on Vermont’s food labeling law written by Ashley here: http://ter.ps/b6w
Farm Credit Honored by MD General Assembly on National Ag Day Farm Credit was recognized by the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis on National Ag Day, March 15, for providing financial support to rural communities throughout the state of Maryland. Farm Credit is celebrating their centennial this year, marking a century of helping rural America by providing access to the credit necessary to ensure producers succeed.Chairman of the Rural Caucus, Delegate Wendell Beitzel (Allegany and Garrett), and Senator George Edwards (Western Maryland) were sponsors of the resolution, which highlighted the vital role Farm Credit plays in Maryland’s rural communities and youth agriculture programs, and their commitment to serving agricultural producers across the state. Find the full story here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/03/prweb13286464.htm
Vilsack Announces Historic Agreements for U.S.-Cuba Agriculture Sectors Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday announced several measures that will foster further collaboration between the U.S. and Cuban agriculture sectors. Secretary Vilsack announced that USDA will allow the 22 industry-funded Research and Promotion Programs and 18 Marketing Order organizations to conduct authorized research and information exchange activities with Cuba. These groups, which are responsible for creating bonds with consumers and businesses around the world in support of U.S. agriculture, will be able to engage in cooperative research and information exchanges with Cuba about agricultural productivity, food security and sustainable natural resource management. Read more here: http://www.journal-advocate.com/sterling-agriculture/ci_29677735/vilsack-announces-historic-agreements-u-s-cuba-agriculture
Right-to-farm webinar April 4 at Noon Don’t forget to register for the webinar covering right-to-farm laws, what are they, how have the laws been applied by courts, and discussing right-to-farm constitutional amendments. The webinar is free and you can register at http://go.umd.edu/RTFWebinar.
ALEI Newsletter Available The Ag Law Education Initiative, a partner in this blog, released a Quarterly Newsletter last Friday. Check it out to see what all new resources are available, upcoming events, and what ALEI has been up to in the first quarter of 2016. The newsletter is available at http://go.umd.edu/1QNL2016.
Business Organizations in Ag Webinar The Mid-Atlantic Women in Ag will host a Wednesday Webinar focused on picking a business organization structure for your farm. The webinar will feature Ashley Ellixson and Paul Goeringer. The webinar is on April 13 and you can learn more about this webinar and other webinars at http://go.umd.edu/WIAWebinar.